PayPal Earnings Miss, Market Value Slides
PayPal earnings disappointed on Feb. 3, 2026 and slowed checkout metrics plus higher costs and weaker guidance prompted a CEO change and pressured shares.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Adjusted Q4 EPS was $1.23, missing the $1.29 consensus by $0.06.
- Q4 revenue rose to $8.68B but missed the $8.82B consensus.
- Shares fell more than 16% following the release, pushing market value near $38.2B.
HIGH POTENTIAL TRADES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX
Add your email to receive our free daily newsletter. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
PayPal reported earnings on Feb. 3, 2026, disappointing investors as revenue growth and branded-checkout metrics slowed. The company also announced a CEO transition to Enrique Lores, effective March 1, 2026.
Quarter Results and Metrics
PayPal (PYPL) posted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.23 for the fourth quarter, missing the $1.29 consensus by $0.06. Revenue rose 4.0% year-over-year to $8.68 billion but fell short of the $8.82 billion expected.
Total payment volume increased 6.0% on a currency-neutral basis to $475.1 billion. Branded-checkout growth slowed sharply to 1.0% from 6.0% a year earlier. Payment transactions rose 2.0%, while transactions per active account declined 5.0% to 57.7. Management attributed the slowdown to weaker U.S. retail spending, international challenges, and tough year-ago comparisons.
Operating expenses totaled $7.17 billion, exceeding the $6.91 billion consensus.
Leadership, Guidance, and Market Reaction
Enrique Lores, a Hewlett-Packard veteran and PayPal board chair, will replace Alex Chriss as CEO on March 1, 2026. Jamie Miller will serve as interim CEO until then.
For fiscal 2026, PayPal guided non-GAAP EPS to a low single-digit decline or slight improvement compared with 2025’s adjusted EPS of $5.31, below the $5.73 consensus. First-quarter non-GAAP EPS is expected to decline mid-single digits versus Q1 2025’s $1.33, short of the $1.38 consensus. Management said heavier growth investments will pressure transaction-margin dollars in 2026.
In premarket trading on Feb. 3, shares fell more than 16% to about $43.62. This drop pushed PayPal’s market value near $38.2 billion, below eBay’s roughly $42.0 billion for the first time since the companies split in 2015. On Feb. 4, an analyst cut PayPal’s price target to $45 from $65 and assigned an equal-weight rating.
