TLDR
- PayPal Q2 EPS came in at $1.38, beating the $1.28 analyst estimate
- Q2 revenue rose 5% to $8.68 billion, above the $8.47 billion consensus
- Full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance raised to $5.38, up from flat-to-slightly-positive prior outlook
- Total payment volume rose 10% to $486.4 billion in Q2
- Active accounts reached 439 million, up 0.3% year-over-year
PayPal posted a stronger-than-expected second quarter, beating on both earnings and revenue while lifting its full-year profit outlook.
PAYPAL $PYPL Q2'26 EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS
🔹 Revenue: $8.68B (Est. $8.47B) 🟢; +5% YoY, +3% FXN
🔹 Adj. EPS: $1.38 (Est. $1.28) 🟢; -1% YoY
🔹 Total Payment Volume: $486.4B (Est. $468.5B) 🟢; +10% YoYRaises FY26 Guide:
🔹 Adj. EPS: ~$5.38 (Est. $5.31) 🟢; raised from… pic.twitter.com/MrTlhyKNBS— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) July 28, 2026
The company reported adjusted EPS of $1.38 for Q2, above the $1.28 Wall Street had expected. Revenue came in at $8.68 billion, up 5%, clearing the $8.47 billion consensus estimate.
PayPal stock was trading around $56 ahead of the report.
This was also the company’s first earnings release since receiving a takeover offer from rival fintech Stripe and buyout firm Advent International, which values PayPal at around $53 billion. The company did not address the offer in its earnings release.
CEO Enrique Lores, who took the top job in March after Alex Chriss departed, said the results reflect progress in PayPal’s ongoing turnaround. “We moved with urgency to sharpen our transformation plan and advance our growth strategies across our three businesses,” Lores said.
Transaction margin dollars rose 1% to $3.9 billion in the quarter. Excluding interest on customer balances, that figure rose 3% to $3.6 billion. Adjusted operating income fell 8% to $1.5 billion, with the adjusted operating margin contracting 248 basis points to 17.4%.
Total payment volume jumped 10% to $486.4 billion, or 9% on a currency-neutral basis. Payment transactions rose 8% to 6.8 billion. Payment transactions per active account increased 3% to 60.0 on a trailing 12-month basis.
Active accounts grew 0.3% year-over-year to 439 million, though they dipped slightly on a sequential basis by 0.2 million accounts.
Full-Year Guidance Gets a Lift
PayPal raised its full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $5.38. The previous outlook had called for a low-single-digit decline to slightly positive growth compared to $5.31 in 2025. Analysts had been expecting the figure to hold flat at $5.31.
The company also raised its transaction margin dollar outlook to around $15.6 billion for the year, up from $15.5 billion in 2025. It had previously guided for a slight decline in that metric.
PayPal said it expects to hit $400 million in gross run-rate savings this year, with a longer-term target of $1.5 billion in savings over the next two to three years. The company previously disclosed plans to cut 20% of its workforce over that same period.
Q3 Outlook More Cautious
For Q3, PayPal guided for adjusted EPS to fall by a low-single-digit percentage from the prior-year figure of $1.34, which lines up with analyst expectations of $1.33.
Transaction margin dollars for Q3 are expected to grow slightly.
Lores highlighted growth in Venmo, Braintree, PayPal’s debit card, and its buy now, pay later business as key areas of momentum. PayPal also said it is accelerating AI adoption as part of its broader restructuring push.
The company reported net income of $1.1 billion, or $1.25 per share in Q2, compared to $1.26 billion, or $1.29 per share, in the same quarter a year ago.
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