PayPal was spun off from eBay in 2015 and provides electronic payment solutions to merchants and consumers, with a focus on online transactions. The company had 439 million active accounts at the end of 2025.
It is a $47.4B financial services company. Revenue grew 5.7% over the last year, and it keeps 14¢ of every dollar of sales as profit. It trades at 9.7× earnings — in the cheapest third of its own history.
- Website
- paypal.com
- Location
- San Jose, CA
- Employees
- 23 800
- Sector
- Financial Services
- Founded
- 1998
Skills
Six independent scores, 0–100, built from reported numbers and valuation history. Click a row to see how it was scored.
Strong valuation, profitability and quality; Growth lags behind.
Valuation100
- P/E vs own history11th pct · 25/25
- FCF yield13.9% · 25/25
- P/S1.4x · 25/25
- EV/EBITDA7.6x · 25/25
Growth41
- Revenue CAGR6.9% · 12/25
- Net income CAGR5.8% · 12/25
- EPS CAGR ~5Y8.8% · 12/25
- Fwd implied growth4.0% · 5/25
Profitability85
- ROIC26.4% · 25/25
- ROE24.4% · 20/25
- Net margin14.4% · 20/25
- Operating margin17.4% · 20/25
Health72
- Altman Z1.58 · 10/25
- Current ratio1.29 · 12/25
- Interest coverage1066.8x · 25/25
- Net cash / debtNet cash · 25/25
Quality100
- Piotroski F8/9 · 25/25
- Beneish M-2.58 · 25/25
- FCF conversion134% · 25/25
- Margin stabilityσ 2.6% · 25/25
Moat68
- ROIC >12% years10/10 yrs · 25/25
- Median gross marginn/a · 0/25
- FCF-positive years10/10 yrs · 25/25
- Worst-year net marginworst 8.8% · 18/25
Experience
The company's career so far — founding, the IPO, landmark products and acquisitions, plus revenue milestones and insider buying.
- FY2025FinancialBest year on record$5.23B net income
- 2021MilestonePayPal became the first foreign operator with 100% control of a payment platform in China, gaining…
- Jan 6, 2020AcquisitionPayPal acquired Honey for over $4 billion
- 2019AcquisitionThis was PayPal's largest acquisition until late November 2019 and the company claims that it is the in-store…
- FY2016FinancialProfitable every year on record10 consecutive profitable years in our data
- FY2016FinancialRevenue already above $10B$10.8B in first reported year
- FY2016FinancialPositive free cash flow every year since10-year streak
- Jul 20, 2015IPOSpun off from eBayrelisted at a higher value than all of eBay
- 2015MilestoneEBay spun off PayPal to its shareholders, and PayPal became an independent company again
- 2013AcquisitionAcquired Braintree$800M — brought Venmo along with it
- 2008AcquisitionPayPal acquired Fraud Sciences, a privately held Israeli start-up that developed online risk tools,…
- 2007AcquisitionPayPal acquired the online credit product Bill Me Later, Inc
- Oct 3, 2002AcquisitionAcquired by eBay$1.5B — PayPal alumni later founded YouTube, Tesla, LinkedIn…
- Feb 15, 2002IPOIPO on Nasdaqwent public in February at $13
- 2000MilestoneMerged with Elon Musk's X.comthe merged company took the PayPal name in 2001
- 1999ProductThe first version of the PayPal electronic payments system was launched in 1999
- 1998FoundedFounded as ConfinityMax Levchin, Peter Thiel and Luke Nosek — security software for PalmPilots
Achievements
Verifiable track record, straight from the reported numbers.
Strengths & watch-outs
What a bull and a bear would each point to. Both lists come from the reported numbers, not opinions.
Strengths
- High gross margin (40.5%)
- Strong cash conversion — FCF is 19.3% of revenue
- Net cash position after subtracting debt from cash
- Could repay net debt from ~0.5 years of free cash flow
- Interest covered 1066.8× by operating earnings
Watch-outs
- Altman Z-Score 1.58 — elevated financial-distress risk
Qualifications
The basics a company should meet before you research it further. Each check uses the reported numbers.
- Revenue growing — the company sells more than a year ago+5.7% YoY
- Profitable — makes more than it spends$4.90B TTM
- Profit growing — earnings are higher than last year+37.3% YoY
- Generates cash — cash left after running and investing$6.59B TTM
- Debt under control — could handle its obligationsmore cash than debt
- Established company — not a micro-cap — lower blow-up risk$47.4B market cap
- Not printing shares — share count not ballooning — you keep your slice-18.4% shares over ~5y
- Proven track record — years of profitability behind it10/10 profitable years
- Financially stable — balance sheet not near distressAltman Z 1.6 — distress
- Pays a dividend — returns cash to shareholdersno data
- Valuation not extreme — price not wildly above earningsP/E 9.7
Peer comparisonPayPal Holdings, Inc. vs 6 largest financial services peers — cap, P/E, growth and margin side by sideOpen ▾Close ▴
| Company | Market cap | P/E | Revenue growth | Net margin | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PYPL this company | $47.4B | 9.7 | +5.7% | 14.4% | Solid |
| BRK.A Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | $1.1T | 11.6 | +3.9% | 22.3% | Mixed |
| BRK.B Berkshire Hathaway | $1.1T | 11.6 | +0.0% | 18.0% | Strong |
| JPM JPMorgan Chase & Co. | $886.2B | 13.6 | +13.5% | 32.6% | Strained |
| V VISA Inc. | $723.9B | 31.9 | +14.4% | 50.8% | Solid |
| MA Mastercard Incorporated | $516.4B | 31.7 | +16.0% | 46.3% | Mixed |
| BAC Bank of America Corporation | $380.4B | 11.3 | +15.9% | 27.8% | Mixed |
Head-to-head: PYPL vs BRK.A · PYPL vs BRK.B · PYPL vs JPM
References
What covering analysts publish about the company — information only, not a recommendation.
Appendix · Financial records
The full statements behind this CV, FY2016–FY2025. For readers who want to check the numbers.
Live data and quarterly detail: stockcv.com/PYPL
Want the live picture — intraday moves, valuation history and full analysis?
Deeper analysis of PYPL on PreMarketPriceFigures are derived from company filings (quarterly values normalised from as-filed year-to-date data where applicable) and may be delayed, restated or incomplete. This page is information, not investment advice. Latest price $55.45 · market cap $47.4B.