eBay's Golden Dreams

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With the Olympics now just weeks away, is it too late to see whether eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) can qualify for the country's pole-vaulting team? I mean, you just don't clear the bar -- again -- and raise the bar -- again -- and expect to be left off the list of medal-chasing hopefuls.

Last night, eBay posted second-quarter earnings that saw profits double to $0.28 a share while revenues clocked in 52% higher at $773 million. It also raised its full-year bottom-line targets by four cents to $1.10 a share, or $1.17 on a pro-forma basis.

But the problem is that these Wall Street analysts posing as Olympic judges can be a cruel lot. In a case of "been there, done that," they had gone ahead and raised the bar, without eBay's blessing already, a pair of pennies higher than eBay's revised guidance. So while eBay topped its sales and earnings projections for the quarter and jacked up the rest of 2004, it was an ironic disappointment.

That, along with the company opening up its pocketbook for a new data center, sent the shares lower, but there was still plenty to like about the company's report.

The company continues its growing globe-trotting ways. In fact, its flagship domestic auction business grew by only 32%. Beyond our borders, the company's auction segment grew by a whopping 76%. If that trend continues, the company's international transaction business will lap eBay's stateside take by early next year.

Think about that for a bit. If a faster-growing segment becomes the leading revenue driver for the company next year, wouldn't that mean the possibility of accelerated earnings growth come 2005? As we saw when Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) teamed up with Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) earlier this year to enter the Chinese auction market -- one in which eBay is already well-represented -- there are plenty of growth opportunities abroad. eBay is right there in the thick of things, but why should that upbeat observation get in the way of these Olympic judges throwing around doping accusations?

That's fine. Let the bids fall as they may. This prolific Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter recommendation has fared well in the past. Luckily, for a nimble eBay, the Olympics remain a global event.

What did you think of eBay's quarter? Is the company making a bid for your attention? What can derail the company's growth? All this and more in the eBay discussion board. Only on Fool.com.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz is a satisfied eBay user -- now with 138 positive feedbacks to show for it -- but he does not own shares in the company. He does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story.