Who owns eBay? eBay is a publicly traded company, which means its shareholders own it. The largest shareholders of eBay Inc. by May 2023 were institutional investors like State Street Corporation, The Vanguard Group, and BlackRock. eBay’s co-founder, Pierre Omidyar, still holds a massive chunk of the company. But he no longer has an active role in its management.
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eBay Detailed Ownership
Let’s explore below the top individual shareholders and the institutional shareholders of the company, as well as its current owners.
Top eBay Individual Shareholders
Some of the leading individual shareholders at eBay were:
Pierre Omidyar: The eBay co-founder owns less than 1% of the company’s outstanding shares. His precise number of shares is not yet in the public domain, but word has it that his shares are not significant enough, which eliminates him from being a beneficial owner. Of course, this is according to SEC rules. Additional individual shareholders include:
- The former eBay president Jeffrey Skoll;
- eBay board member, Thomas Tierney;
- A former eBay CFO and interim CEO, Robert Swan;
- A former eBay board member, Fred Anderson.
Top eBay Institutional Shareholders
The leading institutional shareholders at eBay include:
- Capital World Investors;
- The Vanguard Group, Inc.;
- State Street Corporation;
- BlackRock, Inc.;
- Fidelity Research & Management Company LLC.
Who Runs eBay at the Moment?
The CEO of eBay is Jamie Iannone, which took up the position in April 2020 from Devin Wenig. Before joining eBay, Jamie was the CDO (Chief Digital Officer) at Walmart. His work involved overseeing the company’s eCommerce business, but he also had initial experience in different leadership positions at other eCommerce and technology companies — for example, Digital Products, Barnes & Noble, and SamsClub.com.
What is eBay’s Original Story?
eBay’s story started in 1995 when Pierre Omidyar, the founder, established AuctionWeb, an online auction platform. Pierre, a computer programmer, was passionate and committed to building an online marketplace that would allow people to purchase and sell products to one another directly. The most attractive thing about his idea was that it wouldn’t require intermediaries, as is the case with auction houses and traditional retailers.
When Pierre launched AuctionWeb, it was a small website he operated from his computer. But it evolved fast and attracted more users who started purchasing and selling goods. Pierre adopted the name eBay in 1996 because it was more marketable and memorable.
As eBay continued to grow, Omidyar knew that he needed to hire more staff to cope with the site’s rising demands. He brought on Meg Whitman as CEO in 1998. And eBay went public under her leadership the following year. This feat made it one of the most successful initial public offerings (IPOs) in history at the time.
eBay’s growth hasn’t slowed since then. In fact, it has surpassed its initial plan on online auctions, which has steered it into becoming a fully-developed eCommerce platform. You can buy and sell different types of products ranging from electronics, cars, fashion, and even real estate.
How did Pierre Omidyar Establish eBay?
Pierre Omidyar established eBay in 1995 by building a website. He named it AuctionWeb. During this phase, he relied on his impeccable computer programming skills. Peter had a background in computer science, had previously worked for Apple, and developed software for the Macintosh.
Peter started the site as a personal project and put a broken laser pointer up for auction as a test. You may not believe this, but the laser pointer sold for $14.83 to a collector of broken laser pointers! And this first sale laid the foundation to form eBay.
The company started expanding beyond its initial focus on auctions to include fixed-price listings and other e-commerce features. eBay went public in 1998, and its success transformed Peter into a billionaire and a distinguished figure in the tech industry.
eBay’s History of Ownership
eBay has had several changes in ownership over the years. Here are some of the core events in eBay’s history of ownership:
- 1995: Pierre Omidyar founds the company;
- 1998: eBay goes public in an IPO, raising $63.5 million and valuing the company at more than $2 billion;
- 2002: eBay acquires PayPal for $1.5 billion;
- 2005: eBay acquires Skype, for $2.6 billion;
- 2008: eBay reveals plans to branch off PayPal into a separate publicly traded company;
- 2015: eBay completes PayPal’s branch off into a separate publicly traded company;
- 2019: Elliott Management, an activist hedge fund, took a 4% stake in eBay and pushed for changes to the company’s strategy;
- 2020: eBay sold StubHub, a ticket resale platform, to Viagogo for $4.05 billion;
- 2021: eBay sold the Classifieds Group, which included several online classified advertising sites, to Adevinta for $9.2 billion in cash and stock.
Today, eBay is a publicly traded company, which means it has no majority shareholder. As of May 2023, the largest individual shareholder is Thomas J. Tierney, with a 0.76% stake in the company. And the largest institutional shareholder is Vanguard Group Inc., with a 7.36% stake.
What is the eBay Brand Worth?
According to the annual ranking of the world’s most valuable brands by Brand Finance, eBay’s brand value was $11.2 billion in 2021. With this ranking, the company became the 76th most valuable brand globally.
It’s important to understand that a brand’s value often fluctuates over time based on various factors, such as increased competition, changes in consumer buying habits, and market conditions. Further, different organizations may have varying methods of valuing a brand, which means their estimates of a brand’s worth are likely to vary.
What Else Is There to Know About eBay?
Here are some quick facts and information about eBay:
- eBay is a global e-commerce platform. It links connects buyers and sellers from different parts of the world. Also, it allows users to buy and sell a wide range of items, as mentioned above. These items include electronics, fashion, collectibles, and more;
- eBay has over 190 million active buyers and 20 million active sellers globally. These numbers make it one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the world;
- eBay was founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar as an online marketplace for auctions. It has since evolved into a full-fledged e-commerce platform that allows users to buy and sell goods using fixed-price listings, as well as auctions;
- eBay operates in over 190 markets worldwide, and it has localized websites in more than 20 countries. The company also offers international shipping services, and these allow buyers and sellers to transact across borders;
- eBay generates revenue primarily through transaction fees charged to sellers. But it also generates revenue through advertising on its platform. The company’s revenue in 2020 was $10.3 billion;
- eBay owns several other e-commerce businesses. For example, StubHub is a platform for buying and selling event tickets, while Classifieds Group is a network of online classifieds sites;
- eBay has faced criticism and legal challenges over the years due to various issues, such as counterfeit goods and fraudulent transactions. The company has taken steps to address these issues. Some of these are; implementing measures to prevent fraud and collaborating with law enforcement agencies to fight counterfeit goods.
What is the IPO Story of eBay?
eBay’s initial public offering (IPO) was one of the most successful in history. It marked a turning point for the company and solidified its place in the tech industry. Here’s a brief overview of eBay’s IPO story:
- eBay went public on September 24, 1998. Its initial offering price was $18 per share. Previously, the company had planned to price the shares at $14 to $16. But strong investor demand pushed the price up;
- From the IPO, the company raised $63.5 million for eBay. And with 3.5 million shares sold to the public. At the end of the first day of trading, the stock price had risen to $53.50, which gave the company a market capitalization of over $2 billion;
- eBay’s IPO was considered a success, not just because of the high initial valuation. But because it indicated that the market was open to e-commerce businesses. At the time, many investors were skeptical of the potential the Internet had as a viable business platform;
- Following the success of eBay’s initial public offering, its founder, Pierre Omidyar, became a billionaire almost overnight. What’s more, it attracted the attention of other investors and tech startups. And this paved the way for the dot-com boom of the late 1990s.
eBay Revenue and Usage Statistics:
- In 2020, eBay’s revenue was $10.3 billion, an increase from $9.6 billion in 2019;
- During the first quarter of 2021, eBay’s global active users were 187 million;
- The company’s gross merchandise volume in 2020 was $100.6 million. This amount is representative of the overall value of goods traded through the platform;
- In 2020, eBay’s top-selling categories were garden and home products, fashion, and electronics;
- eBay had 59.2 million unique visitors in the United States only in March 2021, and this made the eCommerce site the 7th most visited in the country;
- eBay has a solid global presence. Moreover, the company has localized websites in more than 20 countries. What’s more, it operates in more than 190 markets globally;
- During the first quarter of 2021, eBay had 1.9 billion live listings on its platform;
- eBay has a mobile app that gives users access to the platform. In 2020 alone, the eBay app was downloaded more than 370 million times worldwide;
- eBay is one of the leading ten e-commerce companies in the world. It has a market share of around 4% in 2020.
eBay’s Subsequent Investment Rounds
eBay, one of the world’s largest online marketplaces, has gone through several investment rounds over the years. Here are eBay’s subsequent investment rounds in brief:
- Series A (1997): eBay raised $6.7 million in its first investment round, steered by Benchmark Capital;
- Series B (1997): eBay raised another $3 million in its second investment round, also led by Benchmark Capital;
- Series C (1998): eBay raised $6.2 million in its third investment round, led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers;
- IPO (1998): eBay went public in 1998, raising $63.5 million in its initial public offering.
- Follow-on offerings (1999-2000): eBay raised an extra $1.5 billion in various follow-on offerings between 1999 and 2000;
- Debt offering (2001): eBay raised $1.5 billion via a debt offering in 2001;
- Secondary offerings (2002-2003): eBay raised another $2.4 billion in various secondary offerings between 2002 and 2003;
- Convertible bond offering (2005): eBay raised $750 million through a convertible bond offering in 2005;
- PayPal spinoff (2015): eBay spun off its payments subsidiary, PayPal, into a separate publicly traded company, and here it raised $5.2 billion in the process;
- Share buyback (2019): eBay announced a $5 billion share buyback program in 2019, and this was aimed at returning value to its shareholders.
What are Some Notable eBay Milestones?
eBay has achieved numerous business milestones since it was founded in 1995. These include:
- In 1997: eBay reached one million registered users;
- In 1998: eBay went public in an IPO that valued the company at over $2 billion;
- 2002: eBay acquired PayPal, a payment processing platform, for $1.5 billion;
- 2005: eBay acquired Skype, a video and voice calling service, for $2.6 billion;
- 2008: eBay announced plans to branch off PayPal into a separate publicly traded company;
- 2009: eBay established its Global Shipping Program, which allows sellers to ship items to buyers in over 200 countries;
- 2015: eBay completed the PayPal branch-off into a separate publicly traded company;
- 2019: eBay announced a strategic review of its business, which led to the sale of StubHub and the Classifieds Group;
- 2020: eBay reported $10.3 billion in revenue for the year. Gross merchandise volume (GMV) was $100.6 billion.
These milestones demonstrate eBay’s growth and evolution over the years. Of course, this is from its early days as an online auction website to its current status as a leading e-commerce platform.
Conclusion
eBay is today a global marketplace, and yes, it has a robust presence in more than 20 countries and operates in more than 190 markets worldwide. eBay has achieved various business milestones and undergone several ownership changes, such as the sale of StubHub and the Classifieds Group, which has not changed the popularity of the platform among buyers and sellers.