Skype reports 338 million users

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JD might have singled out PayPal for special mention, but Skype also had a stellar Q2 of 2008, reporting 51% year-on-year growth and an incredible 338 million users worldwide. Skype revenues were $136 million for the quarter – annualised, that’s over $½billion.

JD called it “a killer communications application”, and mentioned that 25% of Skype calls are now video. There were 14.8 billion minutes of free Skype to Skype calls during the quarter, and 1.8 billion revenue-generating SkypeOut minutes. They might have some crazy ideas, like ad-funded free landline calls, and they’re certainly in need of better monetisation of that enormous user base, but I don’t think anyone can call a $500 million a year a mistake anymore.

6 Responses

  1. Oh, please. Skype has nothing even remotely approaching “338 million users worldwide”. The true number of Skype users is somewhat less than 10% of that. The rest are abandoned accounts (you, and they, fail to mention that it is IMPOSSIBLE to delete a Skype account – once created, it becomes part of the “incredible” number forever, even if it is never used), massive numbers of accounts created by spammers and pornographers (who particularly like Skype these days, as Skype refuses to try to do anything at all about them), and other such irrelevant and inactive accounts.

  2. And this ugly Watson fellow is the biggest flea on Skype’s back. Anyway, SkypeOut minutes grew as much as “user accounts” so at least these alleged pornographers are fortunately paying customers.

  3. eBay acquired Skype for $2.6 billion, 3 years ago.

    $0.5 billion after 3 years is not a good return for that kind of investment.

    Not only did eBay overpay, but they have failed to show how Skype fits with their core, logical, eBay-PayPal business. That’s because it doesn’t.

    I think eBay should sell off Skype, and StumbleUpon, and get back to their real business.

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