eBay 2000 Annual Report Download - page 3

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Another important milestone for eBay in 2000 was the introduction of eBay's API (application
programming interface). The API will allow eBay to be fully integrated into other sites across the Internet. In
addition, the API will make it possible for our commercial partners to more easily and quickly expand our
services to new devices, such as wireless telephones and handhelds. Finally, the API will improve the user
experience by allowing developers to create new and more robust services for eBay users.
In March of 2001, eBay and Microsoft agreed to an alliance that is intended to supercharge eBay's API,
extending it to Microsoft's legions of developers worldwide. Microsoft will also integrate eBay's marketplace
into a number of its web properties, including select MSN sites worldwide, CarPoint, bCentral and WebTV.
Throughout 2000, eBay introduced dozens of features to make the site easier and more fun to use. We
added new ways for our users to list, search, trade and pay for items. Our eÅorts were rewarded with increased
trading velocity. We also saw the number of transactions that closed using Billpoint, eBay's payment service,
signiÑcantly increase during the second half of the year, indicating that more buyers are relying on the safety
and convenience of the Billpoint payment service than ever before.
Customer support was again a priority for eBay in 2000. We're happy to report that our latest surveys
show that once again more than 90 percent of our users would recommend eBay to a friend. And eBay recently
received the ""Best Customer Satisfaction'' award from Satmetrix.
All of our accomplishments in 2000 were achieved on a strong and robust technology platform that
consistently delivered at least 99 percent up time. While we are very pleased with our technology progress this
past year, we know that our job is never done. We will continue to make signiÑcant investments to expand and
strengthen our technology infrastructure and will begin rolling out the third generation of our platform in 2001.
International Expansion
To create a truly global trading platform, eBay is establishing a strong presence in countries whose
populations generate the majority of the world's e-commerce revenue. In 2000, we entered four new markets
Ì Japan, Canada, France and Austria. In the Ñrst eight weeks of 2001, we announced the launch of our
Italian site and our entry into South Korea through the acquisition of a controlling interest in Internet
Auction, South Korea's largest auction-style web site. eBay also announced the acquisition of iBazar, the
pioneer in online auction-style trading in Europe. With the close of the iBazar acquisition, currently scheduled
for the second quarter of 2001, as well as the recent launches of sites in Ireland, Switzerland and New
Zealand, eBay will have a strong leadership position in 15 of the top 20 global markets which represent
approximately 90 percent of the world's e-commerce dollars and a vast majority of the world's Internet users.
Financial Stability
In 2000, eBay again had record bottom line proÑts, which were driven by record user growth, revenues
and gross merchandise sales. For the year, eBay reported consolidated net revenues of $431.4 million, a
92 percent increase over 1999. Consolidated pro forma net income for the full year, which excludes certain
non-cash, merger and stock related charges, reached $58.6 million, or 21 cents per diluted share. This
represents a more than three-fold increase in pro forma net income compared to 1999. Online net revenues
totaled $392 million for the year, a 115% increase over 1999. With strong growth in the core U.S. business,
rapidly growing international operations, and continuing success in adding value for both buyers and sellers, we
continue to be pleased with the diversity of our revenue streams. eBay's balance sheet ended the year at
$1.2 billion in total assets, including approximately $901 million in cash and Ñnancial instruments.
Our Future
As we push into 2001, eBay will stay focused on attracting a broad range of buyers and sellers to the site.
We will introduce more categories and services to eBay as we identify relevant opportunities in the estimated
$1.7 trillion market we address today. We will continue to enhance our technology infrastructure, making it
possible for an ever-growing number of users to reliably transact increasing amounts of business. And we will