SAN JOSE, California, April 26, 2026, 06:01 PDT
PayPal Holdings Inc. climbed 1.5% Friday after Truist Financial bumped its price target up to $45 from $39, holding firm on its Sell rating. Shares finished at $50.48—well above Truist’s new target—so despite the higher number, the call still reads cautious.
This shift has caught attention as Wall Street circles back to payment stocks ahead of Q1 earnings. Earlier this year, PayPal took a hit—new CEO installed in February, a miss on Q4 numbers, and guidance for 2026 that lands somewhere between a minor dip and flat profits. That’s a big slide from the kind of growth targets investors wanted.
Truist’s Matthew Coad sees a “mostly positive” backdrop for payments companies, picking up on volume momentum from U.S. banks and a consumer still spending in 2026, according to TipRanks. Even so, he flagged the need for selectivity, urging caution around stocks facing potential downside to earnings forecasts—a particular headache for PayPal as the company works to energize its branded checkout, the higher-margin online button. TipRanks
PayPal is pushing to broaden its narrative. On April 22, PayPal Ads rolled out Curated Ads for connected TV—television accessed via internet-connected devices—as well as for the open web. The company says the new offering ties ad views directly to verified PayPal purchases. Mark Grether, who heads PayPal Ads as senior vice president and general manager, contrasted the approach: the ad industry typically tracks “purchase intent,” but PayPal is following “actual purchases.” PayPal Newsroom
This week, the company locked in a consumer partnership with the NFL, making it the league’s official peer-to-peer payments partner. Peer-to-peer, or P2P, covers direct money transfers between individuals. PayPal says NFL fans will now be able to send, split, and pool money through its app during key moments, tapping into Venmo’s network of over 100 million U.S. users.
Yet competition isn’t letting up. BMO Capital launched coverage on PayPal, tagging it with a Market Perform and a $52 price target. Analysts highlighted PayPal’s scale as a plus, but flagged growing threats from Apple Pay, Shopify, and Stripe, plus uncertainties tied to investment choices, strategic direction, and how well management can execute.
Enrique Lores, who previously led HP, took over as PayPal’s president and CEO on March 1. The board, according to independent chair David Dorman, was dissatisfied with “the pace of change and execution.” Lores, for his part, stressed the need for “greater speed and precision” at the company. PayPal Investor Relations
The financial base remains intact, just not at the pace investors are looking for. PayPal’s fourth-quarter revenue climbed 4% to $8.676 billion, with total payment volume reaching $475.1 billion, up 9%. Non-GAAP earnings per share landed at $1.23—a figure that strips out certain items, reflecting a company-adjusted profit metric.
Analysts aren’t moving much from the midpoint. According to StockAnalysis, PayPal carries an average Hold rating, though opinions split: Truist recently tagged it with a Strong Sell, target at $45. BMO is neutral at Hold, eyeing $52, while Bank of America also sits on Hold but sees $55 as fair.
Here’s the risk: PayPal could pour money into better checkout, ads, and consumer features, only to see rivals keep the upper hand. In its latest filing, the company spelled out the minefield—intense competition, tech moving fast, regulatory headaches, cybersecurity worries, economic softness, and shifting consumer payment preferences. Any of those, it said, might throw management’s outlook off course.
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