Investors on eBay Earnings: Decent Seller. Would Buy From Again. B+++

If eBay was hoping its second-quarter earnings would give it a respite from the beating its shares have been taking since it reported first-quarter earnings in April, it may well get it. After market close Wednesday, the company turned in a profit that exceeded analysts’ expectations.

EBay (EBAY) earned 40 cents a share in the second quarter, adjusted, on revenue that rose six percent to $2.22 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of 38 cents a share on revenue of $2.16 billion. Good news since according to JP Morgan analyst Imran Khan, any “number below $2.15B would be a disappointment, while anything above $2.2B would be a positive.”

Once again, it is PayPal that seems to be driving eBay’s business. In a statement, the company said PayPal delivered a “record” second-quarter performance, adding a million new accounts each month during the quarter.

“We delivered strong second-quarter results, demonstrating the global strength and increasing diversity of our business,” said CEO John Donahoe. “PayPal is strong and getting stronger, building a robust and innovative global footprint serving all of e-commerce. And our eBay turnaround remains on track, with strong performance in Europe, significant changes in the U.S. and continued improvements to the buying and selling experience. We continue to focus on delivering strong financial results, managing a healthy balance sheet and making the necessary investments to compete, win and satisfy our customers.”

Looking ahead to the third quarter, eBay said it expects earnings of 26 cents to 28 cents a share on revenues of $2.13 billion to $2.18 billion.

Shares of the company, which closed down at the end of regular trading, are up more than three percent after hours.