eBay Q3 2026 Earnings: Strong Growth, Big Bets On Depop & Live Amid Layoffs
eBay reported another quarter of stronger-than-expected results in Q3 2026, with Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) reaching $23.2 billion, up 15% year-over-year, and revenue rising 14% to $3.2 billion, driven largely by collectibles, consumer-to-consumer (C2C) selling and eBay Live.
GMV exceeded the high end of eBay's previous guidance by approximately $766 million, while revenue came in $86 million above expectations and non-GAAP earnings per share beat by $0.09.
Important stats from the Q3 earnings release:
- Revenue of $3.2 billion, up 14% on an as-reported basis and up 13% on an FX-neutral basis
- Gross Merchandise Volume of $23.2 billion, up 15% on an as-reported basis and up 16% on an FX-neutral basis
- First-party advertising products on the eBay platform delivered $575 million of revenue in the third quarter of 2026, up 16%
- Returned $827 million to stockholders, including $689 million of share repurchases and $138 million in cash dividends
Excluding acquisitions, GMV growth slowed slightly from 14% in Q2 to 13% in Q3, while revenue growth slowed from 14% to 11% on a currency-adjusted basis. Net income fell 16% to $501 million, while GAAP operating margin declined from 20.3% to 19.2% year-over-year.
Free cash flow declined 7% year-over-year to $749 million, while eBay returned $827 million to shareholders through stock buybacks and dividends, exceeding the cash generated during the quarter. The company still plans to repurchase approximately $2 billion in shares for the full year.
Sales and marketing expense rose 23% to $747 million, outpacing revenue growth as eBay increased investment in Depop and other strategic priorities. CFO Peggy Alford said improved marketing efficiency on the core marketplace allowed the company to redirect more resources toward Depop, even as eBay continues cutting jobs to fund its growth initiatives.
During the earnings call, Alford directly linked the latest layoffs to freeing up resources for investment in eBay's highest growth priorities. An October 22 SEC filing estimates the cuts will cost $130 million to $150 million, primarily in severance and employee benefits, with most expenses expected in Q4 and the reductions substantially completed by March 2027.
Liz Morton
Active Buyers & GMV
Total Active Buyers jumped to 147 million in Q3, up 10% year-over-year from 134 million and 11 million above Q2, but the increase came from adding buyers through the acquisitions of Depop and Norwegian secondhand marketplace Tise.
Excluding those acquisitions, eBay reported 136 million Active Buyers, up just 1% year-over-year and unchanged from the previous quarter.
During the earnings call, BMO Capital Markets analyst Brian Pitz pressed management on the difference between reported and organic buyer growth, asking what eBay plans to do to "really accelerate organic buyer acquisition for the core marketplace beyond these inorganic additions."
CFO Peggy Alford pointed to 6% organic Active Buyer growth in the U.S., partially offset by weaker international results, and said stronger GMV growth would take time to translate into buyer growth because the metric measures activity over the trailing 12 months.
That brings eBay's reported Active Buyer count above its Q1 2018 level for the first time after 17 consecutive quarters below that historical benchmark, an achievement driven by acquisitions rather than organic growth in the existing core marketplace.
eBay changed its definition of Active Buyers and GMV in late 2021, restating both metrics back to 2018, so those historical comparisons use the company's revised figures. Once again, eBay declined to provide specific Active Seller figures, which were last officially reported at 17 million in Q4 2021 - though a job ad posted earlier this year indicated that number may be closer to 18 million today.
"Enthusiast Buyers" - those with at least 6 purchase days, at least $800 spent in the last 12 months and/or buyers who also sell - are still stuck at 16M, which is where they've been since Q4 2022.
However, CFO Peggy Alford said the underlying Enthusiast Buyer count grew more than 2% year-over-year, including 9% in the U.S. These buyers spend approximately $3,700 annually and account for more than 70% of GMV on the core eBay marketplace.
U.S. GMV grew 27% to $12.5 billion, or 22% excluding acquisitions, while international GMV increased just 4% to $10.6 billion. Collectibles remained the largest contributor to growth, with electronics also gaining momentum from computer hardware, gaming consoles and video games, driven by increases in both transaction volume and average selling prices.
eBay defines GMV as the total value of paid marketplace transactions, including shipping and taxes, without adjustments for returns or cancellations. Higher prices, shipping rates and taxes can therefore increase reported GMV without a corresponding increase in the number of items sold.
Liz Morton
Depop
Q3 was the first quarter to include Depop following eBay's $1.4 billion acquisition from Etsy, which closed July 30, with management reporting that Depop's U.S. GMV, monthly active users and sold items all more than doubled year-over-year on a pro forma basis. CEO Jamie Iannone said Depop now has 11 million Active Buyers over the trailing 12 months, up from nine million, and five million Active Sellers. The acquisition contributed nearly three percentage points to eBay's currency-adjusted GMV growth and approximately two points to revenue growth during Q3.
However, while eBay separately reported Active Buyers excluding Depop and Tise, it did not disclose Depop's actual GMV in dollars, instead providing a combined figure of approximately $9 billion in U.S. fashion GMV across eBay and Depop over the past year.
When announcing the acquisition, eBay explicitly warned that Depop's Gross Merchandise Sales (GMS), as reported under Etsy, were not directly comparable to eBay's GMV, which includes shipping and taxes without deducting returns or cancellations.
That disclaimer is absent from the Q3 presentation, which now uses GMV to describe Depop's year-over-year growth without explaining whether historical figures have been recalculated under eBay's methodology.
Depop generated approximately $186.6 million in revenue in 2025 but posted a $108.9 million operating loss under Etsy, putting eBay's $1.4 billion purchase price at roughly 7.5 times annual revenue. At the time of the acquisition, eBay expected Depop to dilute earnings in the near term and become accretive to non-GAAP operating income in 2028. Despite reporting rapid growth in Depop's U.S. business, eBay has not disclosed updated standalone profitability figures.
Meanwhile, eBay is increasing marketing investment in Depop and leveraging its carrier relationships to lower shipping costs. Alford said Depop operates at a lower take rate than the core marketplace, partly because subsidized shipping is recorded as a reduction to revenue.
Asked by Morgan Stanley analyst Nathan Feather how eBay determines the appropriate level of marketing spending for Depop, Alford said management is increasingly treating investment across the two marketplaces as a combined decision.
"The distinction between the investments we're making in each one is starting to become a little more blurred because we're really seeing the complementary nature of the two platforms together," she said.
The strategy comes amid aggressive U.S. shipping competition with Vinted, with both marketplaces offering free or heavily discounted delivery to encourage more purchases. eBay says its negotiated carrier rates have reduced Depop's parcel costs, though the company has not disclosed how much it is spending on shipping subsidies or marketing.
eBay is also claiming to be the leading online marketplace for secondhand luxury fashion in the U.S. and UK, though the earnings presentation doesn't define what qualifies as "luxury" or provide supporting market share figures. The ranking is based on eBay's own estimates using internal data, publicly available information and unspecified third-party research.
UK competition findings recently showed Vinted capturing 50%–60% of C2C apparel GMV in 2025, with eBay and Depop losing substantial market share. The CMA's figures exclude luxury handbags and high-value sneakers, giving eBay room to claim leadership in this narrower category.
Liz Morton
Vinted is also gaining ground in the U.S., with Appfigures estimating 12 million app downloads through September 20, compared with just one million in all of 2025, and Apptopia reporting that Vinted overtook Depop in U.S. weekly active app users in May.
Vinted's growing U.S. presence also came up during the analyst Q&A, with Wells Fargo analyst Ken Gawrelski noting that the competitor has been "quite aggressive" in the market and asking how that competition is influencing eBay's strategy for the next 12 to 15 months.
"We see U.S. C2C fashion as a large and underpenetrated market and one that's not a winner-take-all," Iannone responded, pointing to the combined growth of eBay and Depop without directly addressing Vinted's performance.
Iannone confirmed during the call that eBay is testing individual Depop listings directly within eBay search results, with the earnings presentation showing a "Refresh your closet on Depop" carousel featuring items from the subsidiary among regular eBay listings.
The integration follows the same approach eBay has already taken with Goldin, inserting branded carousels promoting inventory from its own subsidiaries into search results where independent sellers compete for visibility.
Some frustrated sellers are begrudgingly taking an "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" attitude, reacting to eBay's cross promotion by listing their items on Depop as well. Iannone did not disclose how much of the Depop GMV, buyer and seller growth may have simply been siphoned off the core eBay platform.
Liz Morton
eBay Live
eBay Live delivered another record quarter, with management saying the service is now generating GMV at a multibillion-dollar annualized run rate as activity expands across seven international markets.
That's a more concrete indication of scale than the eightfold year-over-year growth figures the company emphasized earlier this year, but eBay still hasn't disclosed actual quarterly Live GMV, revenue, transaction counts or profitability.
The company says Live GMV continues growing well into triple digits year-over-year, with increases in participating sellers, buyers, streaming hours and viewership. However, those comparisons continue to include a rapidly expanding service that has added new countries, categories and eligible sellers over the past year.
Liz Morton
Five of eBay Live's seven markets launched after Q3 2025, making the year-over-year comparison relatively meaningless.
eBay Live launch dates:
- US: June 2022
- UK: April 2024
- Germany: November 2025
- Australia: December 2025
- France, Italy, & Canada: February 2026
Since then, eBay has expanded self-service registration to more sellers, introduced standardized Live fee schedules and offered a series of financial incentives to encourage participation as well as a redesigned Live hub, multistreaming to social platforms and AI-powered moderation tools.
Those offers have included matched sales for newly approved sellers and an invitation-only 0% commission promotion running through October 29, as competition intensifies with Whatnot and other livestream marketplaces.
Expanded seller access and financial incentives are helping eBay Live grow, though it's unclear how much of that growth comes from increased demand versus new participants and subsidized transactions. During the earnings call, Iannone said Live sellers generated roughly twice as much GMV through regular eBay sales as through Live events over the past year, while Live buyers spend approximately 70% more than comparable buyers.
Promoted Listings Ads
Total advertising revenue continued growing in Q3, reaching $607 million across eBay's advertising businesses, up 16% year-over-year. First-party advertising on the eBay marketplace (all of its Promoted Listings options) generated $575 million, also up 16% on an FX-neutral basis, compared with $570 million and 24% growth in Q2.
Advertising revenue from eBay's other marketplace businesses (Off-Platform) increased 35% to $28 million, while third-party advertising on the core platform declined 44% to just $4 million. eBay does not break out how much advertising revenue comes from individual subsidiaries such as TCGplayer, Qoo10 Japan or the recently acquired Depop.
Promoted Listings now account for nearly 1.3 billion of eBay's 2.7 billion listings, excluding Depop, with six million sellers using at least one advertising product during Q3. But first-party ad revenue growth is slowing relative to GMV, growing just three percentage points faster in Q3 compared to ten points in Q2 and fifteen points a year ago.
During the earnings call, Alford acknowledged that eBay is beginning to lap last year's expanded ad attribution changes in international markets, which increased the circumstances under which sellers can be charged advertising fees. The changes were extended to the U.S. and Canada in January, while faster growth in categories with lower advertising penetration also contributed to the slowdown.
Alford also discussed a new AI-powered system that dynamically adjusts the number of ads shown in search results based on shopper activity and expected value, giving eBay greater control over how much search visibility goes to paid advertising versus organic listings.
Focus Categories & Consumer-To-Consumer Selling
eBay's Focus Categories grew 24% year-over-year in Q3, led by collectibles, Motors, fashion and refurbished goods.
Combined with C2C and recommerce, these strategic priorities now account for 72% of GMV, excluding Depop, and grew approximately 20% during the quarter. While eBay removes overlapping transactions from the total, the designation now encompasses nearly three-quarters of its marketplace, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish its strategic growth areas from the rest of the business.
Collectibles remained the largest contributor to GMV growth, led by sports trading cards and collectible card games. eBay lowered authentication thresholds for trading cards, added collectible coins as a new Focus Category and reported that TCGplayer surpassed $1 billion in annual GMV. eBay Motors also reported triple-digit GMV growth in Vehicles as the company expanded its Trusted Dealer program and secure checkout services.
Global C2C GMV grew more than 20%, including double-digit growth in the U.S., UK and Australia, as eBay expanded fee-free selling, buyer protection and simplified shipping to France and Italy.
eBay also expanded Magical Listing to experienced sellers in several markets. CEO Jamie Iannone said Australian sellers using the technology are creating more than one-third more listings per listing attempter while cutting average listing time by roughly one-third, with improved AI pricing recommendations also increasing conversion and sell-through.
However, sellers have reported growing frustration with the forced Magical Listing rollout, complaining that inaccurate AI-generated details, missing options and disruptions to established workflows can make listing more time-consuming rather than easier.
Liz Morton
Shipping
eBay completed the nationwide rollout of Managed Shipping to all new and reactivated U.S. listers for domestic transactions in Q3, using AI to estimate package dimensions and weight, generate prepaid labels and provide protection against loss or damage. Management says the program has reduced listing time by double-digit percentages.
The company also launched eBay International Shipping in the UK and Germany, allowing sellers to ship to a domestic hub while eBay handles international delivery, customs and post-purchase support. Iannone said the UK service can be up to 30% cheaper for buyers than the previous Global Shipping Program.
In Q4, eBay plans to test lower-cost seller drop-off options in several major U.S. metropolitan areas, building on similar programs in the UK that use parcel shops and lockers to reduce delivery costs.
Shipping is also affecting eBay's financial results, with the transition of UK Managed Shipping to a different revenue accounting model contributing to a lower take rate. Shipping charges remain included in reported GMV, meaning changes in delivery costs can affect the headline growth figures even when merchandise sales remain unchanged.
Q4 Outlook & 2027 Expectations
For Q4, eBay expects GMV between $23.7 billion and $24.1 billion, up 12% to 14% year-over-year on a currency-adjusted basis, with Depop contributing approximately four percentage points of that growth. Revenue is expected to reach $3.19 billion to $3.24 billion, up 7% to 9%, with about two percentage points coming from Depop.
Excluding acquisitions, eBay expects GMV growth to slow to 8%–10% and revenue growth to 5%–7% as the company faces tougher comparisons from last year's strong performance, particularly in trading cards. For the full year, eBay forecasts GMV of $91.5 billion to $91.9 billion and revenue of $12.62 billion to $12.67 billion.
Looking ahead to 2027, management expects continued growth across its marketplace and earnings, driven by Focus Categories, C2C, eBay Live and Depop, though trading-card growth is expected to moderate. The company also plans to continue returning approximately 90%–100% of normalized free cash flow to shareholders through stock buybacks and dividends, unless needed for other investments.
