/PayPal%20Holdings%20Inc%20logo%20and%20money-by%20Sergio%20Photone%20via%20Shutterstock.jpg)
PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) is a California-based global technology company that operates a digital payments platform, enabling consumers and merchants to make payments, process transactions, and transfer money online. Valued at $89 billion by market cap, it serves over 400 million active user accounts worldwide, supporting payments in multiple currencies and across different devices.
Shares of this fintech leader have outperformed the broader market considerably over the past year. PYPL has gained 40.7% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied nearly 23.3%. In 2025, PYPL stock is up 4.9%, surpassing SPX’s 3.2% rise on a YTD basis.
Narrowing the focus, PYPL also outperformed the GX Fintech ETF (FINX). The exchange-traded fund has gained about 35.5% over the past year. However, in 2025, the ETF has surged 7.1%, slightly surpassing PYPL’s return.
The company’s strong portfolio and trusted relationships with merchants and consumers, along with a growing client base, have fuelled its solid momentum over the past year.
On Dec. 13, PYPL gained over 1% following an upgrade by Wolfe Research, which raised its rating from "Peer Perform" to "Outperform" and set a price target of $107.
However, PayPal's shares fell 4% on Oct. 29 after the company released its Q3 earnings report. Despite reporting better-than-expected adjusted EPS of $1.20, its guidance for Q4 was weak, forecasting low-single-digit revenue growth and a decline in adjusted EPS by a low- to mid-single-digit percentage.
For the current fiscal year that ended in December 2024, analysts expect PYPL’s EPS to grow 21.2% to $4.58 on a diluted basis. The company’s earnings surprise history is impressive. It beat the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters.
Among the 41 analysts covering PYPL stock, the consensus is a “Moderate Buy.” That’s based on 17 “Strong Buy” ratings, two “Moderate Buys,” 21 “Holds,” and one “Strong Sell.”
This configuration is less bullish than two months ago, with 15 analysts suggesting a “Strong Buy.”
On Jan. 24, Arvind Ramnani of Piper Sandler Companies (PIPR) reiterated a “Hold” rating on PayPal and set a price target of $93.
The mean price target of $94.32 represents a 5.3% premium to PYPL’s current price levels. The Street-high price target of $125 suggests an ambitious upside potential of 39.6%.
