PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Hits New 12-Month Low Following Weak Earnings

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $42.30 and last traded at $42.9390, with a volume of 33773113 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.33.

The credit services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $8.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. PayPal had a net margin of 14.96% and a return on equity of 25.64%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS.

PayPal News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board names experienced external leader Enrique Lores as incoming CEO (effective March 1), which could speed execution and strategic change over time. PayPal hires HP’s Enrique Lores as its new CEO
• Positive Sentiment: Some bullish analysts see the selloff as a buying opportunity and at least one firm (Macquarie) kept an Outperform view and a high price target, signaling pockets of conviction among institutional investors. Benzinga – Macquarie Outperform
• Neutral Sentiment: Underlying volumes remained positive: Total payment volume (TPV) grew year‑over‑year (mid‑single to high‑single digits in Q4), showing continuing demand even as checkout metrics soften. PayPal in Charts: Total Payment Volume rose 8.5% Y/Y in Q4
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 EPS and revenue missed Street expectations (adjusted EPS ~$1.23 vs. ~$1.29 expected; revenue ~$8.68B vs. ~$8.8B), and management issued a weaker 2026 profit outlook — the primary catalyst for the sharp selloff. PayPal Is Plunging 14% As Profits Come Up Short
• Negative Sentiment: Surprise leadership change (Alex Chriss stepping down; interim CEO until Lores starts) intensified investor concern about execution and strategy execution, amplifying volatility. PayPal Stock Sinks After Company Warns of Earnings Drop and Names New CEO
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades, big market‑cap losses and active securities‑fraud/shareholder investigations and law‑firm outreach are increasing headline risk and may prolong downside pressure. Securities Fraud Investigation Into PayPal Announced

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on PYPL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on PayPal from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $66.00 price objective (down previously from $83.00) on shares of PayPal in a report on Friday, December 12th. HSBC reduced their target price on shares of PayPal from $93.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of PayPal to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “hold” rating on shares of PayPal in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at PayPal

In other PayPal news, insider Suzan Kereere sold 4,162 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.84, for a total value of $249,054.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,854,022.72. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Aaron Webster sold 9,282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.29, for a total transaction of $615,303.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,699 shares in the company, valued at $2,366,486.71. This trade represents a 20.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of PayPal by 1.6% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 9,157 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its holdings in PayPal by 8.7% in the second quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 1,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC grew its stake in PayPal by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 6,404 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in PayPal by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCG Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in PayPal by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,285 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.32% of the company’s stock.

PayPal Stock Down 20.3%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $39.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.43.

About PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a global digital payments platform that enables consumers and merchants to send and receive payments online, on mobile devices and at the point of sale. The company provides a broad set of payment solutions, including a digital wallet, merchant payment processing, checkout services, invoicing and fraud-management tools. PayPal’s platform is designed to support e-commerce, in-person retail and person-to-person transfers, targeting both individual consumers and businesses of varying sizes.

Key products and services in PayPal’s portfolio include the PayPal wallet and checkout ecosystem, the Venmo peer-to-peer mobile app, Braintree’s developer-focused payment gateway, Xoom for international money transfers, and PayPal Credit and buy-now-pay-later options.