Sotheby's Swings Into Profit and Beats Estimates but Revenue Drops

Sotheby's (BID) swung into profit for the first quarter after earnings and revenue beat analyst estimates. The auctioneer posted earnings of $0.11 per share, up on last year's losses of $0.04 per share. Revenue also beat estimates, coming in at $155.7 million. Higher commissions and lower expenses offset a decline in revenue from last year's numbers for Sotheby's. The auction house brought in new CEO Tad Smith at the end of March following a campaign from shareholders. The company's board has also experienced a shakeup in the last six months. Sotheby's started strong in the May auction season, taking $368 million on a sale of impressionist paintings last week. The auctioneer also has a collaboration in the works with rap artist Drake. Sotheby's shares were up on the earnings news.