Corpay (NYSE:CPAY) and PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Head to Head Analysis

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) and Corpay (NYSE:CPAY) are both large-cap business services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for PayPal and Corpay, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PayPal	2	14	17	0	2.45
Corpay	0	5	9	0	2.64

PayPal currently has a consensus target price of $85.00, indicating a potential upside of 27.07%. Corpay has a consensus target price of $399.43, indicating a potential upside of 29.93%. Given Corpay’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Corpay is more favorable than PayPal.

Profitability

This table compares PayPal and Corpay’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PayPal	14.49%	25.35%	6.30%
Corpay	25.17%	39.13%	7.20%

Volatility and Risk

PayPal has a beta of 1.43, meaning that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Corpay has a beta of 1, meaning that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares PayPal and Corpay”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PayPal	$32.29 billion	1.98	$4.15 billion	$4.68	14.29
Corpay	$4.17 billion	5.20	$1.00 billion	$14.72	20.88

PayPal has higher revenue and earnings than Corpay. PayPal is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Corpay, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

68.3% of PayPal shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.8% of Corpay shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of PayPal shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.0% of Corpay shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Corpay beats PayPal on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc. operates a technology platform that enables digital payments on behalf of merchants and consumers worldwide. It operates a two-sided network at scale that connects merchants and consumers that enables its customers to connect, transact, and send and receive payments through online and in person, as well as transfer and withdraw funds using various funding sources, such as bank accounts, PayPal or Venmo account balance, PayPal and Venmo branded credit products comprising its installment products, credit and debit cards, and cryptocurrencies, as well as other stored value products, including gift cards and eligible rewards. The company provides payment solutions under the PayPal, PayPal Credit, Braintree, Venmo, Xoom, Zettle, Hyperwallet, Honey, and Paidy names. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

About Corpay

Corpay, Inc. operates as a payments company that helps businesses and consumers manage vehicle-related expenses, lodging expenses, and corporate payments in the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers vehicle payment solutions, which include fuel, tolls, parking, fleet maintenance, and long-haul transportation services, as well as prepaid food and transportation vouchers and cards. It also provides corporate payment solutions consisting of accounts payable automation; virtual cards, cross-border solutions; and purchasing and travel and entertainment card products, as well as lodging payments solutions for employees who travel overnight for work purposes; traveling crews and stranded passengers from airlines and cruise lines; and insurance policyholders displaced from their homes due to damage or catastrophe. In addition, the company offers gifts and payroll cards. It serves business, merchant, consumer, and payment network customers. The company was formerly known as FLEETCOR Technologies, Inc. and changed its name to Corpay, Inc. in March 2024. Corpay, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.