MW These two online shopping platforms are rallying ahead of Amazon's earnings

By Bill Peters

'We have not seen any big shifts in spending across those related to tariffs or trade announcements that have happened,' Etsy CFO says

Shares of Etsy Inc. and eBay Inc. ran higher over the course of the day on Wednesday, as a key demand metric for both online-shopping platforms topped expectations for the second quarter.

Their earnings reports arrived a day ahead of quarterly results for e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. $(AMZN.UK)$, and amid questions about the impact of tariffs on consumers and online merchants. Meanwhile, all three companies are trying to make online shopping easier through artificial intelligence-backed recommendations and other services.

EBay $(EBAY)$ reported earnings after the bell Wednesday, and its shares jumped 11.4% after hours. Shares of Etsy $(ETSY)$, which reported results earlier in the day, were up 1.6% after hours, after finishing 2.8% higher during regular trading.

"We have not seen any big shifts in spending across those related to tariffs or trade announcements that have happened," Etsy Chief Financial Officer Lanny Baker said on the company's earnings call early Wednesday.

"Kind of the general read is the consumer that we're seeing looks a little bit better, slightly better than it was perhaps three months ago, with higher-income households a little bit healthier within that," he added.

EBay reported second-quarter revenue of $2.73 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $1.37, with both above Wall Street's estimates.

Gross merchandise volume - a much-watched measure of demand tallying the total value of all user transactions - was $19.5 billion, up 6% and above estimates for $18.9 billion. The company's gross merchandise volume forecast for the third quarter - for $19.2 billion to $19.6 billion - was also above FactSet forecasts for $18.79 billion.

Ebay's third-quarter outlook for revenue and adjusted earnings per share were also above expectations. As of the close of trading on Wednesday, eBay's stock was up 25.2% so far this year.

Earlier in the day, Etsy's second-quarter gross merchandise sales - or the dollar value of items sold on Etsy's marketplaces - fell 4.8% year over year to $2.8 billion. But that was a bit stronger than the $2.78 billion expected.

Active buyers fell during the quarter. But sales inched higher and topped estimates, as the company tries to make its app easier to use and step up marketing and social-media efforts.

Still, second-quarter earnings per share missed estimates, and the midpoint of Etsy's third-quarter forecast for gross merchandise sales was below what Wall Street expected. But Wedbush analysts noted that management, during the call, said consumer spending "stabilized" in May and June.

Shares of Etsy are up 17.2% so far this year. The Wedbush analysts said that Etsy's stock traded "at a discount relative to e-commerce marketplace peers," as it tries to revive growth.

"While we are encouraged by management's decision to invest in key initiatives this year to drive sustainable long-term growth, we believe it may take several quarters for the impact to fully materialize, with margins contracting in the near-term," the Wedbush analysts said.

-Bill Peters

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July 30, 2025 18:25 ET (22:25 GMT)

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