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EBay pleases investors with mediocre quarter

EBay made Wall Street happy with its first earnings report after spinning out online payment service PayPal.

Ebay Reports Quarterly Earnings

(Reuters) – EBay reported quarterly revenue and profit above analysts’ average estimate on Wednesday as its marketplaces business performed better than expected, sending its shares soaring in after-hours trading.

The quarterly results were the first for the company since it spun off its PayPal business in July.

EBay, whose shares were up 8.6% in extended trading, faces intensifying competition across its businesses without PayPal, a leader in the fast-growing digital payment processing market.

PayPal (PYPL), formerly eBay’s main growth engine, became a separate company on July 18.

EBay’s competitors include not only Amazon but a growing coterie of brick-and-mortar retailers such asWalmart, Target and Macys which are investing to boost their online presence.

EBay’s net revenue fell to $2.1 billion in the third quarter ended Sept. 30 from $2.15 billion in the same quarter last year.

Analysts on average had expected revenue of $2.09 billion.

Net income fell to $539 million, or 45 cents per share, from $673 million, or 54 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company posted adjusted earnings per share of 43 cents, compared with the average estimate of 40 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Gross merchandise volume fell 2%, including the effect of currency rates. Volume grew 6% on an forex-neutral basis.

The company’s shares (EBAY) closed at $24.21.

For more about eBay, watch this Fortune video: