eBay piles up the cash

eBay has had a barnstorming Q3 with net income up 69 per cent year on year to $103.3 million on sales up 84 per cent to £530.9 million,

The US e-tailer-cum-fraudster's paradise reports strong sales overseas, especially in Germany, the UK and South Korea. And it's gung-ho about prospects for the holiday season - you can even buy eBay gift certificates now.

eBay is sitting on a $2.6bn mountain of cash. Surely, it's time to start paying dividends. After all, the company can't sustain growth at this rate for forever, can it? But from the noises that CFO Rajiv Dutta is making, the company looks like it has some other things in mind. In a conference call, he said the company is considering acquisitions.

"We have enormous potential," he said. "We were struck by the number of extremely attractive opportunities that lie ahead." ®