PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PYPL) stock plunged more than 20% Tuesday, following a triple threat of bad news: a surprise CEO shake-up, an earnings miss and a weak outlook for the year ahead.
- PYPL stock dumped Tuesday. See the chart and price action here.
Here is the breakdown of what happened and the executives’ commentary on the situation:
Surprise Leadership Shake-up
The biggest shock was the immediate departure of CEO Alex Chriss, who had only been in the role since late 2023.
The board appointed Enrique Lores (currently CEO of HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ)) to take over as president and CEO on March 1, 2026, and CFO Jamie Miller will act as interim CEO until Lores arrives.
Miller spoke to the surprise CEO shake-up on Paypal’s earnings call on Tuesday.
“So the board’s decision is based on execution … our execution is just too slow,” Miller stated, signaling a lack of confidence in the company’s recent turnaround efforts.
Disappointing Q4 Earnings
PayPal’s holiday-quarter performance failed to impress Wall Street and apparently failed to impress its own board of directors.
Growth in Branded Checkout (the core PayPal button) slowed to just 1%, a significant drop from the 5% to 6% growth seen in previous quarters, suggesting PayPal is losing ground to competitors like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
PayPal also revised its fiscal 2026 earnings forecast lower to a range of single-digit decline to slightly positive and pulled its 2027 outlook altogether.
“Following our fourth quarter performance, we need to prove that out in the coming quarters and years … But given everything I’ve outlined, we are no longer committing to the specific outlook for 2027,” Miller said.
PayPal shares fell more than 20% in Tuesday’s session, shedding nearly $10 billion in market cap and trading near historical lows, according to Benzinga Pro.
Interim CEO Miller looked ahead with optimism as the company and investors anticipate the arrival of new CEO Lores.
“As Enrique steps into the CEO role, he will bring additional operational focus and discipline to priorities underway and together with the right assets, strategy, and team in place, we believe PayPal Holdings, Inc. is well positioned for 2026 and beyond,” Miller said on the call.
Photo: Shutterstock
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