eBay (EBAY) stock closed up 1% at $122.90 on Wednesday, even after news that the e-commerce company will carry out a second round of layoffs this year. The shares are up 41% in 2026 and 29% over the past 12 months, well ahead of the S&P 500, which has gained about 13% this year.

Reuters was first to report that eBay will cut roughly 9% of its workforce — about 1,000 employees — and the company confirmed the move. The stock dropped in premarket trading on the news, recovered to roughly flat by the time the U.S. market opened, and then finished the day higher.

An eBay spokesperson said the step was taken to "operate from a position of strength." According to the company, it is aligning teams and resources with its top strategic priorities and plans to keep hiring in priority areas as the restructuring moves forward.

The layoffs mark the second round of cuts this year. In February, eBay said it would eliminate about 800 jobs, or roughly 6% of its staff at the time. The company also implemented reductions in early 2023 and early 2024, making the latest action its fourth round of cuts in four years. Viewed together, the string of annual reductions shows that Wednesday's announcement is less a one-off than a continuation of how eBay has managed its cost base — even in a year when its shares have sharply outperformed the broader market.

Analyst Sees Momentum Building

Daniel Kurnos, an analyst at StoneX Financial, rates eBay a Buy with a $136 price target, about 11% above Wednesday's close. In his note, he wrote that "eBay continues to press all the right buttons."

Kurnos highlighted eBay Live, the interactive shopping feature available in the company's app and on its website, and pointed to the growth of eBay's resale business. In his view, that growth suggests the company is taking market share. Those two areas give investors concrete threads to follow into the company's next earnings report.

The stock has climbed more than 12% since mid-September. Kurnos said that rally shows how cautious Wall Street estimates had been, and he argued that it points to momentum heading into the holiday season.

Like other online retailers, eBay has dealt with higher gas prices and unrest in Europe. Even so, Kurnos expects the company to hold up, and he sees continued growth in the 60% of the business that is made up of non-focus categories.

The stock hit a new closing high on Oct. 15. That milestone came days after Morgan Stanley analyst Nathan Feather named eBay a top stock pick.

Depop Deal and Earnings Ahead

In late August, eBay closed its purchase of Depop, the London-based resale platform, for $1.4 billion in cash. The site is popular Gen Z and Millennial shoppers, and the deal is intended to help eBay reach younger buyers. It also gives eBay a rival to Vinted, a Lithuanian company that has been expanding in the U.S.

In August, eBay disclosed that the acquisition ultimately cost $200 million more than first announced, an added expense that could weigh on the company's third-quarter earnings — one of the specific items worth watching when those results arrive.

An eBay survey found that 70% of global consumers see secondhand shopping as important for household budgets, while 47% said they buy secondhand goods at least once a month.

eBay is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Oct. 28 — its first earnings report since the layoffs were announced. Kurnos noted that the company has topped consensus estimates for five straight quarters and said he sees no reason it should not make it six. With the restructuring, the planned hiring in priority areas, and the Depop cost revision all in the background, the report offers the next concrete checkpoint on how the strategy Kurnos describes is holding up.