EBay Inc (EBAY) appears to have made wise move in adding Lyft co-founder and CEO Logan Green to its board as an independent director, but it will take more than one man’s expertise to make the company relevant again.
To be fair, eBay needs a large injection of technological expertise when it comes to mobile, and Green’s success with Lyft suggests he can provide that.
Although Lyft plays second banana to Uber, it does has a valuation of more than $5 billion and has partnered with General Motors Company (GM) to develop self-driving cars. Furthermore, Green is only 32 years old, by far the company’s youngest director on a board that needs a shot of youth.
If nothing else, the appointment of Green sends a signal to eBay shareholders that the company is taking its pathetic positions in mobile and on-demand delivery. The company was forced to abandon almost all of its efforts in those areas after its split with PayPal Holdings Inc (PYPL) last year.
EBAY Struggles to Play Catch Up
The appointment of Green helps address those issues among other ways in which eBay is falling behind the times. As eBay CEO Devin Wenig said in a statement:
“As an independent director, Logan Green is a technology entrepreneur and leader who will bring great experience and insights to eBay’s Board of Directors. Logan understands the possibilities of the sharing economy for people around the world, and his perspective is aligned with eBay’s purpose as we connect millions of buyers and sellers to create greater opportunity.”
This a move in the right direction for eBay, but even if the company is able to leverage everything Green brings to the table, it won’t be easy to stanch its loss of market share to Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN).
Revenue is forecast to grow just 2.7% this year and 4.2% next year, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters. Even if the company were to somehow double those numbers, it would still fall farther behind the e-commerce giant, which also boasts an extensive content business.
This addition to the board is a defensible move, but it doesn’t change the investment thesis on eBay stock. It’s still a hold at best.
As of this writing, Dan Burrows did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
