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EBay has posted a loss of $936 million for the third quarter on Wednesday, a direct result of a previously disclosed $1.39 billion writedown of its investment in Skype. EBay earned 564 million in the third quarter - a great result compared to last year's $339 million for the same period, but obviously it was only enough for their second biggest quarterly loss ever.
Total revenue grew 30% to $1.89, fueled by increased sales in EBay's auction business and PayPal online payment business. It's no wonder, then, that investors supported EBay despite the overall loss: its shares rose 5.4% to $40.60 in regular trading, and additional 15 cents in late trading after the earnings release.
Skype itself has grown, with 26 million more users in the third quarter, which brought it to a total of 246 million users. However, its sales were quite modest: only $98 million. However, EBay is not giving up on it. "Skype is a great business with a long-term potential", said EBay Chief Executive, Meg Whitman, adding that EBay plans to invest more into improving Skype.