eBay also has international revenues to thank

Posted on April 18th, 2008 by John Yunker

eBay recently announced Q1 results and, like Google, shows a significant rise in international revenues vs. domestic revenues. Domestic revenues actually decreased by 1%.

Here’s a visual I cranked out that illustrates eBay’s transformation over the years:

$eBay\'s global revenues$

Like Google, eBay has foreign exchange rates to thank for the strong quarter, that is, a pathetically weak US dollar. Then again, eBay wouldn’t have been able to benefit from a weak dollar if it wasn’t already a global player to begin with. It’s worth emphasizing that those companies that were well diversified globally (as in Web globalization) before the dollar’s slide are navigating this looming recession quite nicely.

But I think the more interesting point is that eBay has continued to grow revenues internationally despites its numerous missteps in China. This should be a lesson to other companies that are thinking of throwing all their eggs into China. China has actually been a drag on eBay, while Western Europe has been a blessing.

By the way, eBay’s newest market launch was in Thailand.

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