Investment Comparison: PayPal vs. SoFi
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 2 days ago
0mins
Should l Buy PYPL?
Source: Fool
- PayPal's Low Valuation: PayPal trades at less than 8 times forward earnings, significantly lower than most fintech stocks, yet its recent quarterly results fell short of expectations, leading to a more than 20% drop in share price.
- Struggling Growth Business: The company's branded checkout segment has seen growth slow from 6% last year to just 1% this quarter, indicating challenges in key growth areas and suggesting a lengthy recovery ahead.
- SoFi's Strong Performance: In stark contrast, SoFi's stock has risen 41% over the past year; despite a recent pullback due to earnings missing expectations, it still trades at a premium 32 times forward earnings, reflecting market confidence in its growth.
- Future Growth Expectations: SoFi anticipates over 30% revenue growth and 38% to 42% earnings growth in the coming years, and if these targets are met, its stock could maintain a high valuation and rise accordingly.
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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: 41.450
Low
51.00
Averages
72.86
High
100.00
Current: 41.450
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.
- Lawsuit Background: DJS Law Group reminds investors of a class action lawsuit against PayPal for violations of §§10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act, covering the trading period from February 25, 2025, to February 2, 2026, indicating serious misconduct by the company in the market.
- False Statements: The complaint alleges that PayPal made false and misleading statements regarding the growth potential of its Branded Checkout segment, despite internal issues within its sales organization, leading to a misrepresentation of the company's prospects and affecting investor decisions.
- Investor Participation: Affected shareholders are encouraged to contact DJS Law Group to participate in the lawsuit, with the note that appointment as lead plaintiff is not required to partake in any recovery, providing a potential avenue for compensation for investors who suffered losses.
- Legal Expertise: DJS Law Group specializes in securities class actions and corporate governance litigation, focusing on enhancing investor returns through balanced counseling and aggressive advocacy, showcasing their expertise in handling complex legal matters.
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- Lawsuit Background: DJS Law Group reminds investors of a class action lawsuit against PayPal for violations of §§10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act, concerning shares purchased from February 25, 2025, to February 2, 2026.
- False Statement Allegations: The complaint alleges that PayPal made false and misleading statements regarding the growth potential of its Branded Checkout segment, despite internal issues within its sales organization, rendering its public statements misleading throughout the class period.
- Investor Participation: Shareholders who suffered losses are encouraged to contact DJS Law Group to participate in the lawsuit, noting that appointment as lead plaintiff is not required for recovery, thus providing a potential avenue for loss recovery.
- Law Group Advantages: DJS Law Group focuses on enhancing investor returns through balanced counseling and aggressive advocacy, specializing in securities class actions and corporate governance litigation, aiming to deliver exceptional legal services to its clients.
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- Klarna Guidance Miss: Klarna's shares plummeted about 25% as its first-quarter operating income guidance of $5 million to $35 million fell significantly short of Wall Street's expectation of $61.9 million, indicating potential challenges in future financing capabilities.
- Blue Owl Loan Sale: Blue Owl Capital's stock dropped nearly 10% after announcing the sale of $1.4 billion in loans at 99.7% of par value, with proceeds aimed at debt repayment and capital return, highlighting liquidity pressures and a halt on redemptions for retail investors.
- Omnicom Buyback Plan: Omnicom's shares surged 13% after reporting fourth-quarter revenue of $5.5 billion, a nearly 28% year-over-year increase, alongside a $5 billion share buyback authorization, reflecting strong financial performance and confidence in future growth.
- Deere Earnings Beat: Deere's stock rose 13% as it reported first-quarter earnings of $2.42 per share on $8 billion in revenue, both exceeding analyst expectations, indicating robust demand for agricultural equipment and potential market share growth ahead.
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- Shareholder Lawsuit Notice: The Gross Law Firm has issued a notice encouraging shareholders who purchased PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) shares between February 25, 2025, and February 2, 2026, to contact them regarding potential lead plaintiff appointment, although this is not required for recovery participation.
- Financial Target Downgrade: PayPal's financial results announced on February 3, 2026, revealed disappointing performance for fiscal year 2025, particularly in its core Branded Checkout segment, leading to the withdrawal of previously set 2027 financial targets, reflecting the impact of market competition and operational issues.
- Stock Price Plunge: Following the disappointing earnings report, PayPal's stock price plummeted from $52.33 per share on February 2, 2026, to $41.70 per share on February 3, 2026, marking a dramatic decline of 20.31% in just one day, indicating strong investor concerns about the company's future prospects.
- Management Shakeup: The announcement of a sudden transition in the CEO role during the earnings release has further intensified market skepticism regarding the company's governance and strategic execution capabilities, potentially undermining investor confidence and long-term growth prospects.
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- Depop Sale Announcement: Etsy plans to sell its fashion resale app Depop to eBay for approximately $1.2 billion in cash, allowing Etsy to focus exclusively on its core marketplace, which is expected to enhance its competitive position.
- Mixed Earnings Report: In the fourth quarter, Etsy reported earnings per share of 92 cents, exceeding analyst estimates of 84 cents, but revenue came in at $882 million, slightly below the expected $885 million, indicating ongoing market pressures.
- Sales Decline: Etsy's gross merchandise sales fell 3.8% year-over-year to $3.59 billion, missing analyst expectations of $3.6 billion, primarily due to the impact of last year's sale of the Reverb marketplace.
- User Growth Metrics: While active buyers decreased by 2% year-over-year to 93.54 million, active sellers increased by 7.7% to 8.76 million, surpassing analyst estimates of 8.5 million, demonstrating Etsy's continued appeal to sellers.
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- Guidance Miss: Walmart's latest earnings report projects adjusted EPS for the fiscal year between $2.75 and $2.85, falling short of Wall Street's $2.96 forecast, resulting in a premarket stock drop of over 2%.
- Challenges Under New CEO: With John Furner taking the helm amid intensifying market competition, investor focus on his strategic direction is increasing, which could impact stock performance.
- Market Performance Review: Despite a recent stock increase of over 21% and nearly 175% over the past five years, the lowered guidance may raise concerns about Walmart's future growth potential among investors.
- Industry Dynamics Impact: On the same day as Walmart's report, Wayfair posted its first annual sales gain, while Etsy's stock rose after beating earnings expectations, indicating a potential pressure on Walmart from the recovering retail sector.
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