PayPal Shares Slide After Earnings Miss and CEO Change

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) shares fell 18% on Tuesday. The sell-off followed an earnings miss and the announcement that CEO Alex Chriss is being replaced. The board appointed Enrique Lores as president and CEO effective March 1, 2026, with CFO Jamie Miller serving as interim CEO until then. The board said the pace of change and execution under Chriss wasn’t in line with its expectations.

The fourth-quarter 2025 results further dampened sentiment. PayPal reported adjusted earnings of $1.23 per share on net revenues of $8.68 billion, falling short of analyst consensus estimates of $1.29 per share and $8.79 billion. Online branded checkout growth slowed to 1% in the quarter from 6% a year earlier, a key concern for investors. Management pointed to pressure in U.S. retail and rising competitive intensity, including from large tech rivals such as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL).

The board said the CEO transition is intended to accelerate change at the company. The incoming leadership is expected to refocus PayPal on product innovation, pricing discipline, and improving engagement across its core branded checkout and wallet offerings. PayPal’s guidance for the first quarter of 2026 suggests earnings will decline at a mid-single-digit rate, with full-year profit expected to remain flat or turn slightly negative.