BUZZ-Street view: PayPal's market share concerns resurface as growth slows

PayPal's PYPL.O shares closed down 13% on Tuesday, after its unbranded card processing business saw a sharp slowdown in growth and its operating margin shrank in the fourth quarter

Investors have been apprehensive about the entry of Big Tech behemoths and emerging fintech upstarts into its core business, fearing intensified competition and market share erosion

INVESTOR CONFIDENCE WAVERS

Wells Fargo ("Equal Weight", PT: $80) says PYPL seems to need more time than expected to fully recapture investor confidence, adding that it continues to be a "story with much to prove"

KBW ("Outperform," PT: $104) attributes stock weakness to flat branded volume growth despite sequential improvement in ecommerce and an underwhelming gross profit growth outlook

William Blair ("Market Perform") says PYPL is too far behind leading e-commerce payment service providers including Adyen, Stripe and Apple Pay

J.P.Morgan ("Overweight", PT: $90) says the stock's post-Q4 reaction was "aggressive", citing largely stable trends but noting investor sensitivity to potential signals of market share losses

Mizuho ("Outperform", PT: $96) says PYPL's 2025 guide is prudent as it may only include minimal potential upside from the launch of new products

TD Cowen ("Hold", PT: $83) says branded products growth landing below Street expectations left "nagging structural concerns" around its core business