eBay vs Visa: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
eBay reported $11.1B of revenue in FY2025 and $2B of net income. Visa reported $40B of revenue in FY2025 and $20.1B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
eBay
eBay is an asset-light marketplace. Unlike Amazon it owns no large warehouses or delivery fleet; it connects buyers and sellers and charges the seller a Final Value Fee, a percentage of each sale. That gives it high profit margins and strong free cash flow, which fund share buybacks and a dividend. In FY2025 it reported $11.100B in revenue and $2.031B in net income, with 135M active buyers.
Visa
Visa's fiscal year ends September 30. Fiscal 2025 net revenue was USD 40.0 billion, up 11% from USD 35.9 billion in fiscal 2024, and GAAP net income was USD 20.1 billion. Growth continued in fiscal 2026: in the third quarter (April to June 2026) net revenue rose 14% to USD 11.6 billion, quarterly payments volume passed USD 4 trillion for the first time, and Visa returned USD 6.2 billion to shareholders through buybacks and dividends. Fiscal 2026 full-year results are due in late October 2026.
Revenue and profit by year
eBay
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $11.1B | $2B | 18.3% | +7.9% | Source |
| FY2024 | $10.3B | — | 0.0% | +1.7% | Source |
| FY2023 | $10.1B | $2.8B | 27.4% | +3.2% | Source |
| FY2022 | $9.8B | -$1.3B | -13.0% | -6.0% | Source |
| FY2021 | $10.4B | $13.6B | 130.6% | — | Source |
Visa
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $40B | $20.1B | 50.1% | +11.3% | Source |
| FY2024 | $35.9B | $19.7B | 55.0% | +10.0% | Source |
| FY2023 | $32.7B | $17.3B | 52.9% | +11.4% | Source |
| FY2022 | $29.3B | $15B | 51.0% | +21.6% | Source |
| FY2021 | $24.1B | $12.3B | 51.1% | +10.3% | Source |
| FY2020 | $21.8B | $10.9B | 49.7% | -4.9% | Source |
| FY2019 | $23B | $12.1B | 52.6% | +11.5% | Source |
| FY2018 | $20.6B | $10.3B | 50.0% | +12.3% | Source |
| FY2017 | $18.4B | $6.7B | 36.5% | +21.7% | Source |
| FY2016 | $15.1B | $6B | 39.7% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
eBay
- Marketplace Transaction Fees
Primary revenue stream
Final value fees and related transaction revenue tied to seller activity and gross merchandise volume.
- Advertising and Promoted Listings
High-margin growth stream
Seller-funded ad products that increase listing visibility and monetize buyer intent.
- Payments, Shipping, Stores, and Upgrades
Marketplace services
Managed payments, shipping services, store subscriptions, listing upgrades, and seller tools.
Visa
- Service revenue
- Data processing revenue
- International transaction revenue
- Value-added services
- Visa Direct
- Fraud and risk tools
Business model and strategy
eBay
How it makes money
eBay operates a large C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer) and B2C (Business-to-Consumer) online marketplace model. They do not own any inventory. The core model relies entirely on 'Take Rates'. If you sell a vintage watch for $1,000 on eBay, eBay takes roughly a 10-15% commission, plus processing fees. Over the last decade, they have aggressively pivoted away from their original 'Auction' format;
Growth strategy
eBay's growth strategy centres on what it calls focus categories and on trust. It was losing sneaker and watch sales to specialist startups because buyers feared counterfeits. It responded with Authenticity Guarantee: experts at eBay facilities inspect expensive watches, sneakers and trading cards before they are shipped to the buyer.
Competitive advantage
eBay's advantage is its inventory of unique and refurbished items and the network of sellers behind it. Shoppers go to Amazon for standard new goods and to eBay for things like a specific 1968 Mustang part, a graded Pokemon card or a refurbished iPhone.
Visa
How it makes money
Visa earns fees from the banks and other clients that use its network, not interest from cardholders. Its reported revenue lines are service revenue (based on payments volume), data processing revenue (based on transactions authorized, cleared and settled over VisaNet), international transaction revenue (cross-border and currency conversion activity) and other revenue, including value-added services such as fraud and…
Growth strategy
Visa's growth strategy is to expand credentials, increase digital acceptance, grow cross-border and e-commerce volume, sell more value-added services, scale Visa Direct, support tap-to-pay and tokenized commerce, and embed Visa capabilities inside fintech and banking platforms.
Competitive advantage
Visa's moat is a three-sided network effect. Consumers use Visa because merchants accept it, merchants accept Visa because consumers carry it, and banks issue Visa credentials because both sides already participate. The company also has fraud data, global rules, brand trust, dispute standards, token infrastructure, and bank relationships built across decades. A competitor cannot simply copy the software;
Questions about eBay vs Visa
Which company has higher revenue — eBay Inc. or Visa Inc.?
eBay Inc. reported $11.1B (FY2025), while Visa Inc. reported $40.0B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Visa Inc. is the larger business, with eBay Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of eBay Inc. vs Visa Inc.?
eBay Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $48.0B, while Visa Inc.'s is $676.0B. Visa Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to eBay Inc..
Which is more financially efficient — eBay Inc. or Visa Inc.?
eBay Inc. generates $902k / employee in revenue per employee, while Visa Inc. generates $1.17M / employee. Visa Inc. shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do eBay Inc. and Visa Inc. make money?
eBay Inc. and Visa Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. eBay Inc.: eBay operates a large C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer) and B2C (Business-to-Consumer) online marketplace model. Visa Inc.: Visa earns fees from the banks and other clients that use its network, not interest from cardholders.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — eBay Inc. or Visa Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, eBay Inc. trades at 4.3x P/S and Visa Inc. at 16.9x P/S. Visa Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to eBay Inc.. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is eBay Inc. bigger than Visa Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Visa Inc. ($40.0B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to eBay Inc. ($11.1B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the eBay vs Visa overview