eBay Still Likes Skype
1:40 PM -- STANFORD, Calif. -- Granted, you wouldn't expect the CEO of eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) to slag on Skype in public. So maybe I'm not reporting anything shocking when I say John Donahoe says he's thrilled with Skype's financial situation.
"I'll take a $500 million business growing at 30 to 40 percent with high teens margins," he said at today's Stanford Accel Symposium, an annual gathering for investors and entrepreneurs.
Table 1: Skype Revenues
It's been noted that Skype hasn't produced much benefit for eBay itself or for PayPal , and Donohoe didn't deny that. The top priorities for Skype and PayPal don't overlap at all. That's OK. Skype is a "great standalone growth seed in our portfolio," he says.
Donohoe was the kickoff speaker for the event, which is organized by Accel Partners and hosted by Stanford University in a new alumni center that was conveniently built with no parking added. This picture, taken during a coffee break, might give you a flavor for the wood-toned, HGTV airiness of the place:
The event, built around the hot tech topics of the day, is consistently good, even though it's not held at a superior university. Right now, Matthew Barzun of the Barack Obama campaign, and Chris Hughes, a Facebook founder and architect of Obama's digital campaign strategies, are telling stories about online community and the Iowa caucuses. Later, there'll be a conversation with Jayshree Ullal, who's now CEO of Arista Networks Inc. (See Ullal Lands in the Cloud.)
— Craig Matsumoto, West Coast Editor, Light Reading
"I'll take a $500 million business growing at 30 to 40 percent with high teens margins," he said at today's Stanford Accel Symposium, an annual gathering for investors and entrepreneurs.
Table 1: Skype Revenues
| Fiscal Year | Revenues ($M) |
| 2006 | |
| 2007 | |
| 2008 | |
| For fiscal years ending Dec. 31.
Source: eBay | |
It's been noted that Skype hasn't produced much benefit for eBay itself or for PayPal , and Donohoe didn't deny that. The top priorities for Skype and PayPal don't overlap at all. That's OK. Skype is a "great standalone growth seed in our portfolio," he says.
Donohoe was the kickoff speaker for the event, which is organized by Accel Partners and hosted by Stanford University in a new alumni center that was conveniently built with no parking added. This picture, taken during a coffee break, might give you a flavor for the wood-toned, HGTV airiness of the place:
The event, built around the hot tech topics of the day, is consistently good, even though it's not held at a superior university. Right now, Matthew Barzun of the Barack Obama campaign, and Chris Hughes, a Facebook founder and architect of Obama's digital campaign strategies, are telling stories about online community and the Iowa caucuses. Later, there'll be a conversation with Jayshree Ullal, who's now CEO of Arista Networks Inc. (See Ullal Lands in the Cloud.)— Craig Matsumoto, West Coast Editor, Light Reading
