eBay Stock Capital Return Hits $40 Bil
In the last decade, eBay (EBAY) stock has returned $40 Bil back to its shareholders through cold, hard cash via dividends and buybacks. Let’s look at some numbers and compare how this payout power stacks up against the market’s biggest capital-return machines.
As it turns out, EBAY stock has returned the 73rd highest amount to shareholders in history.
| EBAY | S&P Median | |
|---|---|---|
| Dividends | $3.0 Bil | $4.5 Bil |
| Share Repurchase | $37 Bil | $5.7 Bil |
| Total Returned | $40 Bil | $9.4 Bil |
| Total Returned as % of Current Market Cap | 105.9% | 25.7% |
Why should you care? Because dividends and share repurchases represent direct, tangible returns of capital to shareholders. They also signal management’s confidence in the company’s financial health and ability to generate sustainable cash flows. And there are more stocks like that. Here is a list of the top 10 companies ranked by total capital returned to shareholders via dividends and stock repurchases.
Top 10 Stocks By Total Shareholder Return
- Stronger Bet Than eBay Stock: ETSY Delivers More
- Better Bet Than eBay Stock: Pay Less To Get More From ETSY
- S&P 500 Movers | Winners: EA, PCAR, CDW | Losers: COST, ORCL, EBAY
- Better Bet Than eBay Stock: Pay Less To Get More From ETSY
- EBAY Stock Down -9.1% after 6-Day Loss Streak
- EBAY Stock Down -8.4% after 5-Day Loss Streak
| Total Money Returned | As % Of Current Market Cap | via Dividends | via Share Repurchases | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | $847 Bil | 20.9% | $141 Bil | $706 Bil |
| MSFT | $368 Bil | 10.4% | $169 Bil | $200 Bil |
| GOOGL | $357 Bil | 10.0% | $15 Bil | $342 Bil |
| XOM | $212 Bil | 41.7% | $145 Bil | $67 Bil |
| WFC | $212 Bil | 71.8% | $58 Bil | $153 Bil |
| META | $183 Bil | 11.2% | $9.1 Bil | $174 Bil |
| JPM | $181 Bil | 20.8% | $0.0 | $181 Bil |
| ORCL | $161 Bil | 31.8% | $34 Bil | $126 Bil |
| CVX | $157 Bil | 54.0% | $99 Bil | $58 Bil |
| JNJ | $157 Bil | 30.9% | $104 Bil | $52 Bil |
For full ranking, visit Buybacks & Dividends Ranking
What do you notice here? The total capital returned to shareholders as a % of the current market cap appears inversely proportional to growth prospects for reinvestments. Stocks like Meta (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) are growing much faster, in a more predictable way, compared to the others, but they have returned a much lower fraction of their market cap to shareholders.
That’s the flip side to high capital returns. Sure, they are attractive, but you have to ask yourself the question: Am I sacrificing growth and sound fundamentals? With that in mind, let’s look at some numbers for EBAY. (see Buy or Sell eBay Stock for more details)
eBay Fundamentals
- Revenue Growth: 2.7% LTM and 1.5% last 3-year average.
- Cash Generation: Nearly 13.5% free cash flow margin and 21.4% operating margin LTM.
- Recent Revenue Shocks: The minimum annual revenue growth in the last 3 years for EBAY was -0.8%.
- Valuation: eBay stock trades at a P/E multiple of 19.2
| EBAY | S&P Median | |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Consumer Discretionary | – |
| Industry | Broadline Retail | – |
| PE Ratio | 19.2 | 23.5 |
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| LTM* Revenue Growth | 2.7% | 6.0% |
| 3Y Average Annual Revenue Growth | 1.5% | 5.4% |
| Min Annual Revenue Growth Last 3Y | -0.8% | 0.1% |
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| LTM* Operating Margin | 21.4% | 18.8% |
| 3Y Average Operating Margin | 21.2% | 18.3% |
| LTM* Free Cash Flow Margin | 13.5% | 13.4% |
*LTM: Last Twelve Months
The table gives good overview of what you get from EBAY stock, but what about the risk?
EBAY Historical Risk
eBay has shown it’s not immune to big sell-offs. It plunged about 77% in the Dot-Com bubble and nearly 75% during the Global Financial Crisis. The 2018 correction wiped out over 43%, while the inflation shock in 2022 caused a dip around 54%. Even the Covid panic dragged it down by roughly 32%. Good fundamentals only get you so far—when markets turn sour, even solid stocks like eBay can take a serious hit.
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