PayPal's Stock Plummets 85% as Investors Lose Confidence
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Mar 16 2026
0mins
Should l Buy PYPL?
Source: Fool
- User Growth Slowdown: PayPal reported 439 million active accounts as of 2025, only 13 million more than five years prior, indicating a significant slowdown in user growth that raises concerns about future market performance.
- Weak Revenue Growth: The company experienced only a 4% revenue increase last year, with its flagship checkout solution reporting a mere 1% year-over-year growth in payment volume during Q4, a stark decline from 6% growth in the previous year, particularly disappointing during the crucial holiday shopping season.
- Leadership Change Impact: The unexpected replacement of CEO Alex Chriss by former HP CEO Enrique Lores on March 1 has likely contributed to investor unease, further impacting stock performance amid already declining growth prospects.
- Strong Financials but Low Valuation: Despite generating $5.6 billion in free cash flow last year and holding $14.8 billion in cash and investments, PayPal's forward price-to-earnings ratio stands at just 8.4, reflecting market skepticism about its growth potential and resulting in a depressed stock price.
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Analyst Views on PYPL
Wall Street analysts forecast PYPL stock price to rise
29 Analyst Rating
6 Buy
19 Hold
4 Sell
Hold
Current: 43.590
Low
51.00
Averages
72.86
High
100.00
Current: 43.590
Low
51.00
Averages
72.86
High
100.00
About PYPL
PayPal Holdings, Inc. offers a technology platform. The Company’s products are designed to enable digital payments and simplify commerce experiences for consumers and merchants to make selling, shopping, and sending and receiving money simple, personalized, and secure, online or offline, including mobile. It provides consumers with a digital wallet that enables them to send payments to merchants securely using a variety of funding sources, which include a bank account, a PayPal or Venmo account balance, its consumer credit products, a credit card, a debit card, certain cryptocurrencies, or other stored value products. It operates a global, two-sided network at scale that connects consumers and merchants with 434 million active accounts across approximately 200 markets. Its brands include PayPal, Braintree, Venmo, Xoom, Hyperwallet, PayPal Zettle, PayPal Honey, and Paidy. It offers financing products through the PayPal Working Capital (PPWC) and PayPal Business Loan (PPBL).
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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Financial Performance: The company achieved a gross merchandise volume of $13.8 billion, a 36% increase year-over-year, with revenue climbing 30% to $1.12 billion and net income rising 61% to $130 million.
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- Class Action Notice: Rosen Law Firm reminds investors who purchased PayPal common stock between February 25, 2025, and February 2, 2026, to apply as lead plaintiffs by April 20, 2026, to potentially receive compensation without any out-of-pocket costs.
- Lawsuit Background: The lawsuit alleges that while PayPal provided investors with optimistic financial targets for 2027, it concealed the true inefficacy of its salesforce to capitalize on growth potential, resulting in investor losses once the truth emerged.
- Law Firm Credentials: Rosen Law Firm specializes in securities class actions and has recovered over $438 million for investors in 2019 alone, being ranked first in 2017 for the number of securities class action settlements, showcasing its expertise in this field.
- Investor Action Recommendations: Investors can visit the Rosen Law Firm website or call the toll-free number for more information, emphasizing the importance of selecting qualified legal counsel to protect their interests and avoid inexperienced intermediaries.
See More
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- Class Action Notice: Rosen Law Firm reminds investors who purchased PayPal stock between February 25, 2025, and February 2, 2026, to apply as lead plaintiffs by April 20, 2026, to participate in the class action and seek compensation.
- Fee Arrangement: Participants can receive compensation without any upfront costs through a contingency fee arrangement, which reduces the financial burden on investors and encourages more affected shareholders to join the lawsuit.
- Lawsuit Background: The lawsuit alleges that PayPal misled investors by providing overly optimistic information about its 2027 financial targets while concealing the salesforce's inability to effectively execute on its growth potential, resulting in investor losses when the truth emerged.
- Law Firm Advantage: Rosen Law Firm specializes in securities class actions and has recovered over $438 million for investors in 2019 alone, demonstrating its extensive experience and success in handling such cases, prompting investors to carefully select qualified legal counsel.
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- Unachievable Financial Targets: The lawsuit alleges that the 2027 financial targets set in early 2025 were unattainable under existing operational constraints and required an unrealistically stable macroeconomic environment.
- Stock Price Crash: Following the announcement of CEO Alex Chriss's departure on February 3, 2026, PayPal's stock plummeted from $52.33 on February 2, 2026, to $41.70, erasing over $10 billion in shareholder value in a single day.
- Investor Action: Investors who purchased PayPal common stock during the Class Period from February 25, 2025, to February 2, 2026, must apply by April 20, 2026, to be appointed as Lead Plaintiff to recover losses.
See More
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- NuScale Risk Disclosure: NuScale Power Corporation is accused of failing to disclose significant risks associated with its nuclear energy projects during the period from May 13, 2025, to November 6, 2025, potentially exposing its commercialization strategy to failures and regulatory challenges, which could hinder future growth.
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