PYPL
A beat, but not a vibe shift
PayPal did what a company is supposed to do when it wants investors to chill out: it beat Q1 revenue and EPS expectations. Revenue came in at $8.353 billion, while adjusted earnings hit $1.34 a share. Cute. But the market didn’t throw a parade, because the bigger question is whether PayPal’s core business is actually re-accelerating or just getting padded by repurchases and cost cuts.
Bank of America says: show me more
Bank of America Securities analyst Matthew C. O’Neill kept a Neutral rating on PayPal, but lowered the price target from $55 to $53. That’s not a full-on breakup, but it’s definitely a “we need to talk” energy. The analyst’s main gripe: the turnaround story still feels more like a PowerPoint deck than a finished product.
Why investors are squinting at the details
A few things are bugging the market:
- Branded checkout growth is still only inching along, even with easier comparisons.
- Second-quarter guidance looked soft.
- PayPal left its fiscal 2026 outlook unchanged, which is not exactly the kind of surprise that makes bulls start high-fiving.
- The company talked up more than $1.5 billion in cost savings over the next several years, but a big chunk is earmarked for reinvestment, not near-term profit fireworks.
The big picture
PayPal is clearly trying to prove it’s more than an ex-growth fintech with a nostalgic logo. But investors want evidence — not just promises — that core growth and margins can improve together. Until that happens, every earnings beat may feel a little like a participation trophy.
Big picture: PayPal is still in turnaround purgatory, and Wall Street’s patience is getting pricey.