With a market cap of $47.4 billion, PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) is a global digital payments company that operates a large-scale, two-sided technology platform connecting merchants and consumers for online and in-person transactions. It offers a wide range of payment and financial solutions through brands such as PayPal, Venmo, Braintree, Xoom, and Zettle.
The technology platform and digital payments company's shares have lagged behind the broader market over the past 52 weeks. PYPL stock has decreased 16.1% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied 11.1%. Moreover, shares of the company are down 2.4% on a YTD basis, compared to SPX's 10.7% gain.
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In addition, shares of the San Jose, California-based company have also underperformed the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF's (XLF) 8.2% return over the past 52 weeks.
PayPal shares rose 2% on Oct. 27 as the company raised its full-year adjusted EPS forecast to approximately $5.60, above its previous outlook and analysts' expectations, reflecting progress in its turnaround and cost-cutting strategy. Investor confidence was further supported by Q3 2026 adjusted operating margin expanding 16 basis points to 18.8%, adjusted EPS reaching $1.45, and the company remaining on track for $700 million in annualized cost savings by year-end 2026 after cutting more than 2,000 jobs.
PayPal also forecast Q4 adjusted EPS of $1.43, ahead of the consensus, and total payment volume increased 7% to $487.1 billion, although quarterly revenue of $8.6 billion slightly missed estimates.
For the fiscal year ending in December 2026, analysts expect PYPL's adjusted EPS to grow 5.1% year-over-year to $5.58. The company's earnings surprise history is mixed. It beat the consensus estimates in three of the last four quarters while missing on another occasion.
Among the 46 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is a "Hold." That's based on four "Strong Buy" ratings, two "Moderate Buys," 34 "Holds," two "Moderate Sells," and four "Strong Sells."
This configuration has remained unchanged over the past three months.
On Oct. 28, BMO Capital analyst Andrew Bauch raised PayPal's price target to $59 and maintained a "Market Perform" rating.
As of writing, the stock is trading above the mean price target of $56.53. The Street-high price target of $72 suggests a 26.3% potential upside.
On the date of publication, Sohini Mondal did not directly have a position in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com
