Paypal (PYPL) closed at $50.81 in the latest trading session, marking a +2.01% move from the prior day. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 1.2% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.79%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.52%.
Shares of the technology platform and digital payments company have appreciated by 12.72% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Business Services sector's gain of 1.24%, and the S&P 500's gain of 5.15%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Paypal in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on May 5, 2026. On that day, Paypal is projected to report earnings of $1.27 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 4.51%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $8.13 billion, up 4.33% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.31 per share and revenue of $34.17 billion, which would represent changes of 0% and +3.02%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Paypal. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.5% lower. Paypal is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
Investors should also note Paypal's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 9.37. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 11.23.
One should further note that PYPL currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.49. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Financial Transaction Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.95.
The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 149, positioning it in the bottom 39% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).