eBay growth may be slowing

Bloomberg:

Shares of eBay, the world’s largest auctioneer, fell Thursday the most in more than a year after the company gave a disappointing outlook for 2006, signaling that growth may be slowing.

Profit may be 7 cents less than Wall Street expectations, eBay said Wednesday after U.S. markets closed. Annual sales may rise to $5.9 billion, said the company, which is based in San Jose, California. Analysts had been projecting revenue of $5.96 billion.

The company’s chief executive officer, Meg Whitman, said in a conference call that new rivals in South Korea might slow eBay’s sales growth in that country. Profit may be crimped by extra spending on steps to enhance online security. Competition is increasing as Google and Amazon.com win business from merchants and develop services.