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Wall Street cool to eBay's profit

Shares in online auction house eBay fell 9.8% in after-hours trade on Wednesday, after its quarterly profits failed to meet market expectations.

Despite seeing net profits rise by 44% to $205.4m (£110m) during October to December, from $142m a year earlier, Wall Street had expected more. EBay stock fell to $92.9 in after-hours trade, from a $103.05 end on Nasdaq. EBay's net revenue for the quarter rose to $935.8m from $648.4m, boosted by growth at its PayPal payment service.

Excluding special items, eBay's profit was 33 cents a share, but analysts had expected 34 cents.

"I think Wall Street has gotten a bit ahead of eBay this quarter and for the 2005 year." said Janco Partners analyst Martin Pyykkonen. For 2004 as a whole, eBay earned $778.2m on sales of $3.27bn. EBay president and chief executive Meg Whitman called 2004 an "outstanding success" that generated "tremendous momentum" for 2005. "I'm more confident than ever that the decisions and investments we're making today will ensure a bright future for the company and our community of users around the world," she said. EBay now forecasts 2005 revenue of $4.2bn to $4.35bn and earnings excluding items of $1.48 to $1.52 per share. Analysts had previously estimated that eBay would achieve 2005 revenues of $4.37bn and earnings of $1.62 per share, excluding items.