eBay reported financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2006, and announced a stock repurchase plan. In a separate announcement to users, eBay said it was increasing fees for its Store owners (http://auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m07/i20/s01).

eBay reported record consolidated Q2-06 net revenues of $1.411 billion, representing a growth rate of 30% year over year and GAAP operating income of $311 million representing a 22% operating margin. Non-GAAP operating income in Q2-06 was $460 million representing a 33% operating margin. GAAP net income in Q2-06 was $250 million, or $0.17 earnings per diluted share. Non-GAAP net income in Q2-06 was $351 million, or $0.24 earnings per diluted share.

eBay's Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $2 billion of the company's common stock within the next two years. As of June 30, 2006, eBay's cash and marketable securities of nearly $4 billion is at the highest level in the history of the company.

"Q2 was a good quarter for the company driven by solid growth across eBay, PayPal and Skype," said Meg Whitman, President and CEO of eBay Inc. "Our stock repurchase plan underscores our confidence in our ability to generate strong profitability and cash flows while investing in the future of the company."

Selected Key Q2 Financial and Operating Metrics
Consolidated net revenues totaled $1.411 billion in Q2-06, a growth rate of 30% over the $1.086 billion reported in Q2-05.

Marketplaces net revenues totaled $1.028 billion in Q2-06, representing 22% year-over-year growth. Payments net revenues totaled $339 million in Q2-06, representing 39% year-over-year growth. And communications net revenues totaled $44 million in Q2-06, representing a 26% increase from the $35 million reported in Q1-06.

eBay cumulative confirmed registered users at the end of Q2-06 totaled 203 million, and active users increased to 78 million.

eBay new listings totaled 596 million in Q2-06, 35% higher than the 440 million new listings reported in Q2-05.

eBay GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume), the total value of all successfully closed items on eBay's trading platforms, was $13 billion in Q2-06, representing an 18% year-over-year increase from the $11 billion reported in Q2-05.

eBay's fixed price trading contributed approximately $4 billion or 35% of total GMV during Q2-06, primarily from eBay's "Buy It Now" feature. At the end of Q2-06, eBay hosted approximately 541,000 stores worldwide, with approximately 255,000 stores hosted on the US site.

PayPal had 114 million total payments accounts at the end of Q2-06, a 44% increase from the 79 million reported at the end of Q2-05. Total Payment Volume (TPV), the dollar volume of payments initiated through the PayPal system, excluding the payment gateway business, was $9 billion in Q2-06, a 37% increase from the $6 billion reported in Q2-05.

Communications had a cumulative total of 113 million registered users at the end of Q2-06, representing a 20% increase from the 95 million in Q1-06. Communications registered users represent the number of unique user accounts created on Skype.