Web auction company eBay last night reported a 14 per cent drop in second-quarter profit that met expectations, but its stock rose 6 per cent as it announced its first-ever share buyback.
The firm - along with its sister company Paypal - employs 900 staff in its west Dublin centre.
It unveiled plans for the $2 billion buyback over the next two years, and spelled out a push to boost sales volume in its core auction business by raising prices for some listings, which analysts said helped boost the stock.
"E-commerce is slowing down a bit. I think that with the changes we are making we can actually do better," President and chief executive Meg Whitman said in an interview.
Shares of eBay, down about 40 per cent this year, rose 5.7 per cent to $27.40 in extended-hours trading.
It was a marked contrast to Tuesday's 22 per cent plunge in the shares of Yahoo after the leading Internet media company posted disappointing results and delayed a key product upgrade.
EBay North America President Bill Cobb said in a message to eBay users sent out on Tuesday that the company was taking steps to reemphasize auction listings by raising fees on products listed for $100 or less in instant purchase format.
Ms Whitman said it has become "a little bit harder to find items" when consumers search for items on its sometimes cluttered auction site.
"I think that has caused the buyer experience to suffer," she said.
Mr Cobb said 83 per cent of all product listings are now in what eBay calls its store inventory format - items available for instant purchase, like on Amazon.com - overshadowing the company's classic auction bidding format.
Overall listings were up 35 per cent while gross merchandise volume, or the total value of items sold on eBay, rose only 18 per cent. This suggests there were more inexpensive goods sold than high-ticket items, which drive growth, analysts said.