NEW YORK, June 20, 2026, 10:02 AM EDT
- PayPal ended Thursday at $42.51, gaining 1.02%. U.S. markets were closed after that for Juneteenth and the weekend.
- PYPL finished up roughly 2.4% from the last Friday close after a holiday-shortened week. The stock climbed Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, which covered a 3.6% fall on Wednesday.
- What’s next for the stock is if cost cuts, growth at Venmo, and a tighter business can make up for pressure in branded checkout, PayPal’s main online payment button.
PayPal Holdings shares gained over the shortened U.S. trading week. Investors weighed the small move higher as CEO Enrique Lores kept trimming parts of PayPal’s former growth strategy.
U.S. stock markets stayed closed Friday for Juneteenth, following Thursday’s shutdown on the NYSE and Nasdaq. The markets will be closed again Saturday. PayPal (PYPL) ended Thursday at $42.51, climbing 43 cents, or 1.02%, with roughly 27.2 million shares changing hands.
Timing is key here. PayPal is telling Wall Street it can hold onto its checkout edge, boost Venmo usage, and cut costs across its big payments operation. But that’s a story the company still has to prove, not one it can claim as a win just yet.
The shares added 2.31% Monday, picked up another 2.73% Tuesday, then dropped 3.60% Wednesday before clawing back 1.02% Thursday, historical price data shows. That put the weekly move at roughly 2.4% higher from the prior Friday’s $41.53 close.
S&P 500 added 1.08% to 7,500.58 on Thursday. Nasdaq Composite gained 1.9%, led by chip stocks, Reuters said. PayPal was up, but its gain was less than Block’s 2.66%. Visa fell 0.96%. Mastercard dropped 0.61%, both bigger payments names.
PayPal Ventures halted new investments this week, TechCrunch said, following Fortune’s report that the unit could be wound down. A PayPal spokesperson told TechCrunch the company is “exploring strategic options for our corporate venture arm.” TechCrunch
That lines up with what Lores has been saying. In April, PayPal announced plans to split into three business units: Checkout Solutions & PayPal, Consumer Financial Services & Venmo, and Payment Services & Crypto. Lores said at the time the company needed to get closer to consumers, boost accountability and improve execution “to accelerate growth and unlock our full potential.” PayPal Newsroom
Venmo is still the stronger story. PayPal reported in its first-quarter update that Venmo total payment volume was up 14%. By comparison, online branded checkout grew just 2% on a currency-neutral basis. That strips out exchange-rate moves. Total payment volume, or how much PayPal processed, was $464 billion for the quarter, up 11%.
PayPal kept pushing Venmo into new payment spots. On June 15, The Knot Worldwide added Venmo as a payment choice for wedding registry cash funds. Alexis Sowa, who runs Venmo, called the partnership “a secure, intuitive solution” for couples and guests who already use the app. PayPal Newsroom
PayPal’s cost-cutting and restructuring may not be enough to tackle its biggest problem: growth in branded checkout remains slow, especially in Europe, where things have softened. The company is still spending on rewards, tech, and marketing but says it will deliver savings. Chief Financial and Operating Officer Jamie Miller said second quarter numbers will show more year-over-year pressure, but PayPal is sticking with its full-year forecast.
PayPal (PYPL) starts the week with eyes on whether shares can stay above the low-$40s when U.S. trading resumes after the holiday weekend. Investors want updates on venture-portfolio sales, cost moves, or Venmo monetization. The stock has bounced, but PayPal still has to prove itself.
