eBay Flexes Solid Core

Checkout is backed by the muscle of Google, a company that continues to play an increasingly central role to how consumers navigate the Internet and one that has the resources to keep fueling Checkout until the service reaches a critical mass.

eBay continues to hold onto many great assets, including some of the most recognized brands on the Internet. But the current quarter doesn't get eBay out of the woods. It simply buys the company more time to build on its strengths.

Whitman, for her part, seems well aware of this. Asked whether the reacceleration of growth in eBay's core business laid to waste the idea that the Internet was changing beyond eBay's basic approach, she replied only that "the great companies are those that can change and evolve in this competitive landscape. The Internet has changed, and I think we have changed in response to that."

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