PayPal stock tumbles almost 20% on soft 2026 forecast

PayPal announced yesterday that it will replace its CEO and warned that 2026 earnings will decline, a one-two punch that sent the stock plunging more than 20%.

The payments giant said CEO Alex Chriss will step down, and HP CEO Enrique Lores will take over on March 1. Chief Financial Officer Jamie Miller will serve as interim CEO until the transition.

Chriss joined the company in 2023 and, since then, hasn’t been able to get the stock prices up.

Over the past five years, the company’s stock has plunged 84%, and it has lost half its value over the last year.

Earnings miss
PayPal posted fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.23 on revenue of $8.68 billion, both below Wall Street forecasts. 

For the full year, PayPal posted earnings of $5.31 per share, missing its own forecast range of $5.35 to $5.39, despite raising guidance twice earlier. It is currently valued at around $50 billion, $60 billion less than its rival Stripe’s valuation.

Slow growth
Growth in PayPal-branded online checkout slowed sharply to 1%, down from 6% a year earlier, signaling weaker consumer activity. The company also expects transaction margin dollars, a key profit measure, to decline slightly in 2026.

Executives warned that macroeconomic pressures and challenges to monetizing services could limit future gains.

Though the payment company had incorporated buy now, pay later (BNPL) programs, it lagged behind. It also lost market share to Google Pay and Amazon. Reduced consumer spending further exacerbated the situation, making it harder for the company to recoup losses incurred during the pandemic.

PayPal has applied for a US banking license to expand small-business lending and diversify revenue streams. The board said the leadership change aims to speed execution and restore investor confidence.