PayPal reported third-quarter results before the market opened Tuesday, Oct. 27. Net revenue rose 2% to $8.6 billion. Non-GAAP earnings rose 8% to $1.45 a share, while GAAP earnings fell 4% to $1.25. CNBC reported that the $1.45 beat the LSEG consensus of $1.31 and that the shares rose 2%.
Guidance goes up
PayPal now expects full-year non-GAAP EPS of about $5.60, up from its July forecast of about $5.38. For the fourth quarter it expects non-GAAP EPS of about $1.43. It reaffirmed its GAAP EPS forecast of about $5.07 for the year.
Key numbers
- Total payment volume: $487.1 billion, up 6%
- Payment transactions: 6.8 billion, up 7%
- Active accounts: 440 million, up 0.6%
- Transaction margin dollars: $4.0 billion, up 2%
- Buybacks: $1.5 billion, about 28 million shares
- Dividend: 14 cents a share, payable Dec. 24 to holders of record Dec. 4
"We are beginning to see our strategy translate into our financial results," CEO Enrique Lores said. He added that "while there is more work to do," the company is "increasingly confident in our path to durable, profitable growth."
The takeover backdrop
The Wall Street Journal framed the results as PayPal's case to investors that it can thrive as an independent company. The results came after months of takeover speculation; the Journal has reported that Stripe and Advent International offered to buy PayPal for $60.50 a share this summer, though no deal has materialized.