New York, Feb 4, 2026, 04:56 EST — Premarket
- PayPal shares traded near $41.70 in premarket, following a steep 20% drop on Tuesday.
- The board appointed HP chief Enrique Lores as CEO starting March 1; for now, CFO Jamie Miller serves as interim CEO.
- Investors are digging into weak 2026 profit guidance alongside a cooling in PayPal’s higher-margin “branded checkout” segment.
PayPal Holdings shares hovered near $41.70 in early trading Wednesday, holding steady after tumbling sharply the day before. The stock ended Tuesday at $41.70, down 20.31%, marking its lowest point since early 2017.
The board appointed Enrique Lores as president and CEO, starting March 1, and named David W. Dorman as independent board chair. “Enrique is widely recognized as a visionary leader,” Dorman said. Lores added, “The payments industry is changing faster than ever.” SEC
The leadership shake-up came as PayPal issued a weaker-than-anticipated profit outlook for 2026 and reported a quarterly miss. The company now expects full-year adjusted profit—a non-GAAP figure that excludes certain items—to fall anywhere from a low-single-digit percentage decline to a slight rise. This contrasts sharply with Wall Street’s roughly 8% growth forecast, based on LSEG data cited by PayPal. On the post-earnings call, interim CEO Jamie Miller told analysts, “We saw pressure across our retail merchant portfolio, particularly among lower and middle-income consumers.” Reuters
“Branded checkout” — the PayPal button you see on online stores — remains a key revenue driver, usually delivering higher margins than generic processing. MarketWatch flagged a slowdown in its growth, with branded-checkout climbing just 1% in Q4. In response, PayPal outlined plans to boost the checkout experience, including expanding biometric options and highlighting rewards and payment choices more clearly. Total payment volume, the amount of money processed on its platform, reached roughly $475 billion for the quarter, marking a 6% rise. MarketWatch
Analysts didn’t hold back. TD Cowen’s Bryan Bergin labeled the quarter a “broad-based miss,” highlighting transaction revenue and payment-volume numbers that fell short of Street expectations. Payments Dive
A securities filing revealed PayPal proposed a $3 million cash retention award for Miller, with 67% vesting by February 2027 and the rest in February 2028, contingent on ongoing employment. The filing also noted Alex Chriss will stay on as an employee in a non-officer capacity until March 2 to assist with the transition.
Lores’ offer letter details a compensation package focused largely on equity and stock performance targets. His base salary is set at $1.45 million with a target annual bonus equal to 200% of that salary. The package also includes stock awards, featuring $20 million in “make-whole” restricted stock units and a one-time $25 million grant in performance stock units tied to multi-year stock-price goals, according to a filing. SEC
Competition shows no signs of letting up. The Financial Times highlighted how PayPal’s softer guidance and a CEO shakeup have heightened investor concerns over its turnaround speed. Rivals like Apple Pay and emerging buy-now, pay-later firms such as Klarna and Affirm are ramping up their efforts at checkout.
The risk for bulls is straightforward: a new CEO won’t suddenly boost weak consumer demand or speed up a slow merchant pipeline. If branded checkout continues to falter—or if the leadership change drags down decision-making—PayPal might see further estimate cuts and face a steeper battle for market share.
