eBay Just Crashed Zuck’s Party… And Walked Out $840 Million Richer (Sort Of)

Well, well, well... how the turntables. Remember when Facebook Marketplace was that annoying feature clogging up your feed with your neighbor's questionably stained couch? Turns out Meta just threw eBay the biggest bone since PayPal let them crash on the futon back in their scrappy startup days.

In what can only be described as a "We're not competing, we're collaborating.” move, Meta announced it's letting eBay listings crash the Facebook Marketplace party. And by "announced," I mean "got strong-armed by EU regulators who were tired of Zuck's monopolistic shenanigans." 

See, Meta got slapped with an $840 Million fine (that's like, what, three of Zuck's hoodies?) by the European Commission for basically turning Facebook Marketplace into the Mean Girl of online marketplaces. You can't sit with us. Except now you can, eBay. You can totally sit with us.

The pilot program is kicking off in France, Germany, and the U.S. right away. And Wall Street is eating it up like I used to demolish the Pizza Hut all-you-can-eat buffet (RIP those glory days). eBay shares rose 9% on Wednesday, hitting heights we haven’t seen since November 2021… back when Elon was still just a quirky billionaire and not plotting global domination.

eBay's been bullied by everyone from Amazon to that sketchy app your mom won't stop buying $2 dresses from (looking at you, Temu). This deal gives them access to Facebook's 3 BILLION users. That's like, a lot of potential buyers for your "vintage" Pokemon cards. At the same time, Meta's playing nice because they have to. That $840 Million fine from the EU wasn't exactly a friendly suggestion. 

CEO Jamie Iannone (who probably can’t believe eBay is relevant again) has been pushing eBay into niche markets. We're talking collectibles, luxury goods, and probably those weird ceramic cats your grandma loves. And it's working… eBay stock is up more than 40% from last year, despite growth numbers that are pretty underwhelming. The company's been embracing its role as the internet's favorite garage sale, and with inflation making everyone's wallet lighter, their focus on used and refurbished goods is actually paying off.

The best part is that Meta's trying to spin this as their idea: "While we disagree with and continue to appeal the European Commission's decision..." In other words: "We're doing this because we have to, but we're going to act like it was our idea all along." Right…

For eBay, this is like getting invited to sit at the cool kids' table after spending the last decade eating lunch alone in the computer lab. And with adjusted earnings projected to jump 14% in 2024 (compared to an anemic 2% in 2023), it looks like eBay might finally be getting its groove back.

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Stocks.News has positions in Meta, PayPal, eBay, Amazon, and YumBrands! mentioned in article.