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DiggGoing, going, gone? One way or another it appears eBay Inc. [EBAY] CEO Meg Whitman is on the way out, whether through pressure from unhappy shareholders or perhaps to pursue a higher, more noble calling.
With its stock down 17% from its 2007 highs, a highly publicized admission that its Skype acquisition has not met expectations and ongoing frustration from some of its core user group, Whitman is feeling heat to step down. It's a similar story to what was seen at Yahoo! Inc. [YHOO] earlier this year when outside pressures forced Terry Semel to resign as CEO.
The question now seems to be whether Whitman will leave her post permanently or on a temporary basis. There is increasing chatter that Whitman could take a year's leave of absence to help presidential candidate Mitt Romney's campaign. She is currently the co-chair of the National Women for Mitt and could be in line for a Cabinet post if he wins the election. She could also choose to campaign for Romney over the next year, then return to eBay.
Barring a move into politics Whitman will have to make a tough decision on whether eBay would be better off with a new CEO more capable of rejuvenating its business and share price or whether she's the best person for the job. Though the company has done a fairly good job of late with complementary acquisitions of online ticket reseller StubHub.com and content sharing Web site StumbleUpon.com, it may need to explore larger deals to give its revenues a boost. Its experience with Skype should not deter the company from pursuing a mega-deal, particularly as the threat from Google Inc. [GOOG] continues to grow.
2008 will undoubtedly be a time of change at eBay. We're still betting that the company has the resources and smarts to get it back in the right direction. If not, the company may need to more seriously explore a mega-merger with the likes of Yahoo or Amazon.com Inc. [AMZN]. -- David Shabelman
See Dec. 18 post from Silicon Alley Insider
See Dec. 23 post from SeekingAlpha
See Dec. 21 post from TechConfidential
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Ebay sucks. Here's an idea that might boost revenues - customer service! There's a whole generation of companies who think they can do without it. Guess what? It'll bite you!
Good Riddance...This woman has taken a great company and run it clear into the ground. Her shareholders want to PUKE....
They should kick this sorry CEO's A** on the way out!
Only ones making money with eBay stock are day traders, market holders, and anaylists, who entice people with $50.00 per share...while they sell, lol...
EBay has yet to pay a dividend to their loyal and downtrodden shareholders...They are too busy pissing their money away...
I'm surprised that Mutual funds still hold this dog. Or any bog investment firm for that matter. All we hear is hype! And stock going DOWN...
Amazon is going to put them out of business in the long run...
Oh, how I wished I owned Amazon stock instead of eBay stock...Sigh...sigh...sigh...
Good riddance - she and Mitt Romney deserve each other. Perhaps they'll both ride off as right-wing cowboys into the Utah sunset.