By Manya Saini
(Reuters) -PayPal’s shares fell nearly 10% on Tuesday, after the digital payments giant’s unbranded card processing business saw a sharp slowdown in growth and its operating margin shrank in the fourth quarter.
Unbranded payments, which include transactions for other firms rather than PayPal itself, had traditionally been a low-margin business due to stiff competition but saw strong growth in recent years.
Under CEO Alex Chriss, PayPal has embarked on an ambitious turnaround plan that hinges on ‘profitable growth’ and revamped its pricing strategy on these products, driving away some customers.
“Expectations have been high for PayPal’s turnaround efforts and it seems that investors aren’t blown away by the latest results, despite them beating on both the revenue and earnings lines,” said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.
In the fourth quarter, growth in total payment volume for PayPal’s unbranded payment processing business slowed sharply to 2%, compared with 29% a year earlier.
“Management has an increased focus on profitable growth for the Braintree product, which is the non-PayPal branded checkout product. This has resulted in a slowdown in payment volumes for the company but improved overall profitability,” said Edward Jones analyst Logan Purk.
Meanwhile, growth in branded products – where consumers and merchants interact within PayPal’s platform such as Venmo – also fell short of some analysts’ expectations, eclipsing an upbeat forecast for profit in 2025 that surpassed Wall Street estimates.
Wolfe Research analyst Darrin Peller attributed the stock decline to branded products growth rising only 6%, shy of the Street forecast of 7%, despite the broader e-commerce boom, PayPal’s marketing campaigns and checkout improvements.
The results could set back some of the progress PayPal has made in easing investor concerns about profit margins, which thrived for years on a first-mover advantage but slipped post-pandemic amid slowing spending and rising competition, analysts said.
Technology behemoths such as Apple and Alphabet’s Google have emerged as new entrants into PayPal’s core market, while traditional card networks – Visa and Mastercard – have also expanded their digital payments footprint.
“Taking a step back, it’s hard not to ignore the intense competition which continues to be a problem for PayPal. Consumers increasingly use Google Pay or Apple Pay via their phones or watches,” Coatsworth added.
Although PayPal’s adjusted operating margins contracted by 34 basis points to 18% in the fourth quarter, efforts toward profitable growth helped the company close the year with margins expanding 116 basis points to 18.4%.
PROFIT PUSH
Since taking over in late 2023, PayPal CEO Chriss has focused on high-margin products and renegotiated pricing on several offerings with merchants.
“We set out at the beginning of 2024 to make it a transition year to narrow our focus and to make sure we are executing the initiatives that matter the most to the growth of our business,” Chriss said in a call with analysts.
The company has also worked to defend its dominant position with new products, including a “one-click” checkout feature called Fastlane, and forged lucrative partnerships.
“Management has an increased focus on profitable growth for the Braintree product, which is the non-PayPal branded checkout product. This has resulted in a slowdown in payment volumes for the company but improved overall profitability,” said Edward Jones analyst Logan Purk.
PayPal expects full-year adjusted profit to grow between $4.95 and $5.10 per share, surpassing Wall Street views of $4.90 according to estimates compiled by LSEG.
It posted an adjusted profit of $1.19 in the fourth quarter, topping estimates of $1.12. Revenue increased 4% to $8.4 billion and total payment volume rose 7%.
(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
