KeyCorp Predicts PayPal's Q1 Earnings (NASDAQ:PYPL)

Key Points

• KeyCorp forecasts PayPal will report $1.39 EPS for Q1 2026, maintains a Hold rating and projects FY2026 EPS of $5.54 and FY2027 EPS of $6.22 (consensus current full-year EPS is $5.03).
• Analyst coverage is mixed — 12 Buys, 24 Holds and 4 Sells — leaving an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $75.84, with calls ranging from Morgan Stanley’s $51 sell to HSBC’s $93 buy.
• PayPal recently beat quarterly expectations (EPS $1.34; revenue $8.42B) and is pursuing growth catalysts like acquiring Cymbio, partnering with OpenAI and applying to become a bank, but the stock trades cheaply (P/E 11.35) and has declined from a 12‑month high of $90.93 to a low near $55 amid mixed sentiment.

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL - Free Report) - Stock analysts at KeyCorp issued their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for shares of PayPal in a report issued on Friday, January 23rd. KeyCorp analyst A. Schmidt anticipates that the credit services provider will post earnings per share of $1.39 for the quarter. KeyCorp currently has a "Hold" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for PayPal's current full-year earnings is $5.03 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for PayPal's Q2 2026 earnings at $1.40 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.29 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.46 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $5.54 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $6.22 EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on PYPL. Dbs Bank lowered their price objective on shares of PayPal from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of PayPal from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. HSBC upped their price objective on PayPal from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on PayPal from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $66.00 target price (down previously from $83.00) on shares of PayPal in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PayPal currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $75.84.

PayPal Stock Performance

PayPal stock opened at $56.62 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. PayPal has a 12-month low of $55.01 and a 12-month high of $90.93.

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.14. PayPal had a net margin of 14.96% and a return on equity of 25.64%. The firm had revenue of $8.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. PayPal has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.270-1.310 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 5.350-5.390 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PYPL. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in PayPal by 1.6% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 9,157 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its holdings in shares of PayPal by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 1,840 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its stake in PayPal by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 6,404 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in PayPal by 2.9% during the third quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,698 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, WCG Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in PayPal by 1.1% during the second quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,285 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. 68.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other PayPal news, CAO Chris Natali sold 1,374 shares of PayPal stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.13, for a total transaction of $94,984.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Diego Scotti sold 3,838 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.97, for a total value of $264,706.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,171,731.33. The trade was a 18.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 36,156 shares of company stock worth $2,432,524 over the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting PayPal

Here are the key news stories impacting PayPal this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPal agreed to acquire Cymbio to accelerate agentic commerce and multichannel AI-driven selling for merchants — a clear strategic move to deepen merchant-facing AI capabilities. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and trade reaction note the Cymbio deal and related AI-commerce angle as a growth catalyst that could help monetize AI shopping integrations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: PayPal is reported to have partnered with OpenAI and applied to become a bank — moves that, if approved and executed well, expand product reach (AI experiences and deposit/credit capability). Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is elevated (Zacks highlights PYPL among most-searched stocks), which can amplify moves in either direction as news flow continues. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces note PayPal’s stablecoin and broader strategy could allow survival without dominance in every area—useful context but not an immediate catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Sell rating and $51 price target, arguing AI and agentic commerce efforts won’t fully offset structural headwinds — a direct bearish analyst signal. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Opinion/downgrade pieces question whether PayPal can recover its former growth trajectory, framing the stock as potentially a value trap despite low valuation metrics. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Technical and price-action stories note PYPL has lost key support levels and has declined sharply over the past year — fueling momentum selling and caution among investors. Article Title

PayPal Company Profile

PayPal Holdings, Inc operates a global digital payments platform that enables consumers and merchants to send and receive payments online, on mobile devices and at the point of sale. The company provides a broad set of payment solutions, including a digital wallet, merchant payment processing, checkout services, invoicing and fraud-management tools. PayPal's platform is designed to support e-commerce, in-person retail and person-to-person transfers, targeting both individual consumers and businesses of varying sizes.

Key products and services in PayPal's portfolio include the PayPal wallet and checkout ecosystem, the Venmo peer-to-peer mobile app, Braintree's developer-focused payment gateway, Xoom for international money transfers, and PayPal Credit and buy-now-pay-later options.

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