PayPal Surges 6% on Takeover Rumors Amid Leadership Shakeup and $4B Stablecoin Milestone
Following reports that the payments pioneer has drawn unwanted acquisition interest, PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL) saw a more than 6% increase
Quick overview
- PayPal's stock rose over 6% amid reports of acquisition interest as the company prepares for a leadership change on March 1st.
- The company is currently undervalued, with a market cap of approximately $40.9 billion, down from over $300 billion in 2021.
- Enrique Lores will take over as CEO, facing challenges in revitalizing PayPal's growth amidst fierce competition and internal turmoil.
- PayPal's stablecoin, PYUSD, has reached a $4 billion valuation, indicating success in its blockchain ventures despite core business challenges.
Following reports that the payments pioneer has drawn unwanted acquisition interest, PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL) saw a more than 6% increase in its stock price on Monday. A acquisition could occur as the business gets up for a crucial leadership change on March 1st, despite the fact that its digital asset strategy is showing strong institutional momentum.
PayPal M&A Buzz: A Discounted Giant in Suitors’ Sights?
Reports on Monday that PayPal has started meeting with investment banks to assess initial takeover queries rocked the digital payments scene. Bloomberg reports that other investors are pursuing particular high-value assets, while at least one significant industry competitor is considering a complete acquisition of the business.
The interest comes after a terrible year for PayPal stockholders, as the stock is still down about 46% over the last 12 months, even after Monday’s surge to $44.05. Given that the company’s market capitalization is currently at about $40.9 billion, a small portion of its high of over $300 billion in 2021, Mizuho Securities analysts said the company is “deeply undervalued.” Owning Venmo and handling close to $1.8 trillion in total payment volume (TPV) in 2025, PayPal is still a major force in the world.
Leadership in Flux: The Lores Era Begins
There has been a lot of internal turmoil during the time of the takeover speculations. Enrique Lores, who is now the CEO of HP Inc., will become the President and CEO of PayPal on March 1, 2026. Lores takes over for Alex Chriss, who was fired earlier this month after the company missed its profit and revenue goals in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Lores takes over a business that is facing “the innovator’s dilemma.” The board is betting that Lores’ expertise in hardware-to-subscription transitions will speed up execution, even though legacy branded checkout has stalled. Some analysts, however, are still dubious, wondering if a hardware industry veteran can change course fast enough to fend off fierce competition from Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Block Inc.
The Crypto Pivot: PYUSD Surpasses $4 Billion
Despite challenges to its core business, PayPal’s venture into blockchain technology is producing “measurable results.” PayPal USD (PYUSD), the company’s stablecoin, just achieved a $4 billion market valuation, solidifying its place as the sixth-largest stablecoin in the world.
Strategic ecosystem expansions have been the driving force behind this growth:
- PayPal just made Solana SOL/USD the default network for PYUSD payments in order to take advantage of its low fees and excellent throughput.
- AI Infrastructure Financing: PYUSD is now positioned as a reserve asset for the USDAI protocol, which focuses on financing AI data centers, thanks to a collaboration with Permian Labs on the Arbitrum network.
- YouTube Payouts: Since the stablecoin was recently made available as a payment option for American YouTube content creators, it has becoming widely used.
PayPal (PYPL) Stock Future Outlook: A Value Stock or a Turnaround?
The market is still split as PayPal gets ready to pay out its $0.14 quarterly dividend in late March. Skeptics point to a low P/E ratio that indicates the market is pricing PYPL as a “value stock” rather than a growth engine, as well as a manageable but present Altman Z-Score of 1.83, which indicates financial stress.
Enrique Lores’s first task as CEO will be to demonstrate that PayPal is more than just a distressed purchase candidate. He has to persuade the public that PayPal’s extensive network and developing cryptocurrency infrastructure can be effectively incorporated into the upcoming round of “agentic commerce.”
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