Ebay focuses on PayPal in light of weak marketplace

SAN JOSE, Calif. Ebay shared with investors at a company-held meeting a roadmap of its growth plans through 2011. Among them, the growth potential of its payment service, PayPal. Ebay president and ceo, John Donahoe stressed the enormous potential of PayPal. Donahoe said PayPal has become a second core business for the company, with an opportunity bigger than Ebay Marketplaces because PayPal targets all of e-commerce.

“We expect PayPal to become the next leading online global payments network,” Donahoe said. “Increasingly for online consumers, there’s no paper, no plastic – there’s just PayPal. We believe this business is one of the most exciting and high-potential opportunities anywhere online today.”

Ebay said it expects company revenues to reach $10 billion to $12 billion in 2011, up from $8.5 billion in 2008, led by strong PayPal growth, Skype and other ecommerce formats.