According to reports, eBay Inc. (eBay) recently held its annual analyst conference to discuss the company's stock over the past year and more the trend.
Although eBay CEO Meg Whitman at the meeting expressed optimism about the future expectations, but the company's share price is down on last Friday to their lowest point in history, eBay stock price the day by about 5 percentage points to 32.49 dollars, then continued to fall to its lowest point since the year - 32.01 U.S. dollars.
EBay stock has recently dropped by 25% over the beginning of the stock market value has shrunk 150 million.
To gain a foothold in China
At the meeting, many analysts believe, eBay's business in China, the importance has declined. eBay president of international operations, said 马特巴尼克 from China and South Korea competitive pressure in key markets in Asia will weaken the eBay's growth expectations. Budnick said, eBay is hard to find a foothold in China, as Yahoo and Alibaba in China claimed they had occupied 70% of B2B auction market share. Banicq recognition, eBay faces special challenges in Asia, especially in China and South Korea.
Nevertheless, the U.S. investment adviser Caris & Co.'s Analyst Tim Boyd or that, taking into account both in China and South Korea key to the explosive growth of e-commerce market, eBay is an obvious slow failure.
Bambi Francisco, MarketWatch analysts feel this doubt, he thought, Alibaba's Taobao's been made clear in the auction market leading position in China, and if eBay can not be that immature markets in China continue to progress (in China is clearly the world's largest consumer market), then in the U.S. and outside of China, eBay can continue to develop in where?
Analyst meeting last year, eBay announced an additional 100 million U.S. dollars in China investment, hoping to change the situation in China and Whitman on the Chinese market competitors expressed a kind of "strategic defiance" she said the Chinese market, a large group of "mini competition" only will eBay's "ankle" hit, but eBay's market campaign is a fatal blow on them, eBay would be "no suspense" to be a victory for the Chinese market persons.
MarketWatch Analysts, CBS observers Bill Bishop that "Whitman had for eBay in China to do too many promises made to Wall Street." In Whitman's view, the potential of Asia will be the next step in the development of eBay key targets. In the past year, as the policy impact of free Taobao, eBay in China has been forced to take follow-up strategy, trying to maintain market share in this way, from May 1, 2005 start, eBay eBay items down all the transactions Log in charge, the next 4 months, eBay or even free shop and the abolition of commodity listing fee.
Market share is difficult to break through
Piper Jaffray analyst 萨法拉施特奇 on eBay to improve the e-commerce market share that pessimistic, he thought the eBay e-commerce is difficult to increase market share. Citigroup analyst 马克马哈尼 said "In any case divided, eBay's international market volume growth has been significantly slowing down." Taking into account the impact of the international market, eBay's GMV growth in March this year amount to 26%, compared to 35% in December last year, growth has declined, but then after a quarter volume growth of 40%.
Banicq admitted: "In some of our key markets, e-commerce growth is very slow." He added, each quarter of the international market, the growth rate of e-business rate of about 2% decline. Last year, eBay Inc. in the U.S. and Germany, the two largest growth market, the business had stopped declining: in Germany, last quarter growth rate dropped to 9%, but in the first quarter of 2006 increased again to 19%. Even so, the company's management acknowledged that speeding development time has gone, eBay has gradually begun to rely on selling new products.
To solve this problem, eBay by the end of April the company opened eBay Express - a fixed price for the willingness to buy goods customers to provide fast, convenient service delivery sites. But analysts worry that Google Base eBay can not avoid competition, analysts said, eBay Express this attempt to move into the retail area will help to help expand the user base, but may not be able to challenge such a retailer like Amazon.
While investors took note of the competition from Google through Google Base this online portfolio services, as well as its online payment services and communication services, Google steady expansion of the company, its business has moved beyond providing search services, and this Wall Street interpreted as a move by eBay is facing a major threat to the company. Earlier reports have related to Yahoo for eBay trying to form an alliance against the threat of Google on its key markets.
Skype integration is difficult
In Skype, despite Skype's Internet phone service eBay management are described as "speeding the development of the state," but its real potential may lie not only do users pay for the network calls. Whitman said eBay company communications business can push without online transactions, but the business mainstream products in the market, such as real estate, tourism, automotive and many other different types of business.
Whitman said: "I am looking forward to next year to do some preliminary attempt." However, she warned, the Skype business with eBay's business combination does not happen overnight, "It takes time. Because it is a very complicated process. "
eBay said Skype Skype in China, 13 million registered users account for about 13% of total number of users, the number of users than any other country. But the legal issues still to Internet phone service illegal in the state. Citigroup analysts believe how Skype integration with eBay is indeed a problem. Many analysts believe that, once IP network voice services are popular, Skype's Internet phone service will be difficult to profit. They also put the company into other online services, voice services, the capacity of skepticism.