eBay 2015 Annual Report Download - page 18

regarding our financial performance, including SEC filings, investor events, press and earnings releases, and
blogs on our investor relations website. Further corporate governance information, including our governance
guidelines for our board of directors, board committee charters and code of conduct, is also available on our
investor relations website under the heading “Corporate Governance.”
The contents of our websites and webcasts are not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on
Form 10-K or in any other report or document we file with (or furnish to) the SEC, and any references to our
websites and webcasts are intended to be inactive textual references only.
Item 1A: RISK FACTORS
You should carefully review the following discussion of the risks that may affect our business, results of
operations and financial condition, as well as our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto and the
other information appearing in this report, for important information regarding risks that affect us.
Risk Factors That May Affect our Business, Results of Operations and Financial Condition
Our operating and financial results are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could adversely affect
our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, as well as the trading price of our
common stock and debt securities.
Our operating and financial results have varied on a quarterly basis during our operating history and may
continue to fluctuate significantly as a result of a variety of factors, including as a result of the risks set forth in
this “Risk Factors” section. It is difficult for us to forecast the level or source of our revenues or earnings (loss)
accurately. In view of the rapidly evolving nature of our business, period-to-period comparisons of our operating
results may not be meaningful, and you should not rely upon them as an indication of future performance. We do
not have backlog, and substantially all of our net revenues each quarter come from transactions involving sales
during that quarter. Due to the inherent difficulty in forecasting revenues, it is also difficult to forecast expenses
as a percentage of net revenues. Quarterly and annual expenses as a percentage of net revenues reflected in our
consolidated financial statements may be significantly different from historical or projected rates. Our operating
results in one or more future quarters may fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors. The
trading price of our common stock and debt securities could decline, perhaps substantially, as a result of the
factors described in this paragraph.
Substantial and increasingly intense competition worldwide in ecommerce may harm our business.
The businesses and markets in which we operate are intensely competitive. We currently and potentially
compete with a wide variety of online and offline companies providing goods and services to consumers and
merchants. The Internet and mobile networks provide new, rapidly evolving and intensely competitive channels
for the sale of all types of goods and services. We compete in two-sided markets, and must attract both buyers
and sellers to use our platforms. Consumers who purchase or sell goods and services through us have more and
more alternatives, and merchants have more channels to reach consumers. We expect competition to continue to
intensify. Online and offline businesses increasingly are competing with each other and our competitors include a
number of online and offline retailers with significant resources, large user communities and well-established
brands. Moreover, the barriers to entry into these channels can be low, and businesses easily can launch online
sites or mobile platforms and applications at nominal cost by using commercially available software or
partnering with any of a number of successful ecommerce companies. As we respond to changes in the
competitive environment, we may, from time to time, make pricing, service or marketing decisions or
acquisitions that may be controversial with and lead to dissatisfaction among sellers, which could reduce activity
on our platform and harm our profitability.
We face increased competitive pressure online and offline. In particular, the competitive norm for, and the
expected level of service from, ecommerce and mobile commerce has significantly increased, due to, among
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