How to buy eBay shares

eBay Inc is an internet retail business with stocks listed in the US. eBay shares (EBAY) are listed on the NASDAQ and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Its last market close was US$53.06 – a decrease of 7.87% over the previous week. Here's how to invest if you're based in Australia.

How to buy shares in eBay

1. Compare share trading platforms. To buy shares in a US company from Australia you'll need to find a trading platform that offers access to US stock markets. If you're just starting out, look for a platform with low brokerage and foreign exchange fees.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and tax file number. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for eBay. Find the share by name or ticker symbol: EBAY. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until eBay reaches your desired price. To spread out your risk, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of US$53.06, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimise risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of eBay, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of eBay. Optimise your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

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eBay share price

Use our graph to track the performance of EBAY stocks over time.

eBay shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2021-01-20.

52-week range	US$25.7689 - US$60.6902
50-day moving average	US$52.0203
200-day moving average	US$53.1659
Target price	US$62.71
PE ratio	7.8114
Dividend yield	US$0.64 (1.16%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	US$7.21

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The value of your investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no indication of future results.

Is it a good time to buy eBay stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Technical Analysis of eBay Inc by TradingView

eBay price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $53.06 on 2020-12-18

1 week (2021-01-15)	-4.26%
1 month (2020-12-22)	2.79%
3 months (2020-10-22)	1.47%
6 months (2020-07-22)	-5.82%

1 year (2020-01-22)	47.84%
2 years (2019-01-22)	61.28%
3 years (2018-01-22)	34.06%
5 years (2016-01-22)	100.76%

Is eBay under- or over-valued?

Valuing eBay stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of eBay's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

eBay's P/E ratio

eBay's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 8x. In other words, eBay shares trade at around 8x recent earnings.

That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.

eBay's PEG ratio

eBay's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 0.8183. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into eBay's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

eBay's EBITDA

eBay's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is US$3.7 billion (£2.7 billion).

The EBITDA is a measure of a eBay's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

eBay financials

Revenue TTM	US$11.8 billion
Operating margin TTM	25.55%
Gross profit TTM	US$8.3 billion
Return on assets TTM	10.15%
Return on equity TTM	80.97%
Profit margin	45.56%
Book value	4.238
Market capitalisation	US$38.8 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting eBay shares

There are currently 25.0 million eBay shares held short by investors – that's known as eBay's "short interest". This figure is 3.5% down from 25.9 million last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting eBay shares can be evaluated.

eBay's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

eBay's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of eBay shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of eBay shares traded daily (recently around 6.7 million). eBay's SIR currently stands at 3.71. In other words for every 100,000 eBay shares traded daily on the market, roughly 3710 shares are currently held short.

However eBay's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of eBay shares, or, against the total number of tradable eBay shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case eBay's short interest could be expressed as 0.04% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 eBay shares in existence, roughly 40 shares are currently held short) or 0.0382% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable eBay shares, roughly 38 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against eBay.

Find out more about how you can short eBay stock.

eBay's environmental, social and governance track record

Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like eBay.

When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.

eBay's total ESG risk score

Total ESG risk: 28.44

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and eBay's overall score of 28.44 (as at 01/01/2019) is pretty good – landing it in it in the 32nd percentile of companies rated in the same sector.

ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like eBay is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).

eBay's environmental score

Environmental score: 7.2/100

eBay's environmental score of 7.2 puts it squarely in the 9th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that eBay is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

eBay's social score

Social score: 17.66/100

eBay's social score of 17.66 puts it squarely in the 9th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that eBay is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.

eBay's governance score

Governance score: 12.59/100

eBay's governance score puts it squarely in the 9th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that eBay is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

eBay's controversy score

Controversy score: 2/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. eBay scored a 2 out of 5 for controversy – the second-highest score possible, reflecting that eBay has, for the most part, managed to keep its nose clean.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

eBay Inc was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.

Total ESG score	28.44
Total ESG percentile	32.28
Environmental score	7.2
Environmental score percentile	9
Social score	17.66
Social score percentile	9
Governance score	12.59
Governance score percentile	9
Level of controversy	2

eBay share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 18.23% of net profits

Recently eBay has paid out, on average, around 18.23% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 1.16% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), eBay shareholders could enjoy a 1.16% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In eBay's case, that would currently equate to about $0.64 per share.

While eBay's payout ratio might seem low, this can signify that eBay is investing more in its future growth.

eBay's most recent dividend payout was on 18 December 2020. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 30 November 2020 (the "ex-dividend date").

Have eBay's shares ever split?

eBay's shares were split on a 2376:1000 basis on 20 July 2015. So if you had owned 1000 shares the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 2376 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your eBay shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 57.9% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for eBay shares which in turn could have impacted eBay's share price.

eBay share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, eBay's shares have ranged in value from as little as US$25.7689 up to US$60.6902. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NASDAQ average) beta is 1, while eBay's is 1.2353. This would suggest that eBay's shares are a little bit more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a slightly higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).

eBay overview

eBay Inc. operates the marketplace and classifieds platforms that connect buyers and sellers worldwide. Its Marketplace platform includes its online marketplace at ebay.com and the eBay suite of mobile apps; and Classifieds platform comprises a collection of brands, such as Mobile.de, Kijiji, Gumtree, Marktplaats, eBay Kleinanzeigen, and others that offer online classifieds to help people find what they are looking for in their local communities. Its platforms enable users to list, buy, sell, and pay for items through various online, mobile, and offline channels that include retailers, distributors, liquidators, import and export companies, auctioneers, catalog and mail-order companies, classifieds, directories, search engines, commerce participants, shopping channels, and networks. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of eBay is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 3.665% of eBay shares are held by insiders and 94.515% by institutions.

• When does the fiscal year end for eBay?

  eBay's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is eBay based?

  eBay's address is: 2025 Hamilton Avenue, San Jose, CA, United States, 95125

• What is eBay's ISIN number?

  eBay's international securities identification number is: US2786421030

• What is eBay's CUSIP number?

  eBay's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 278642103