PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL)

PayPal Holdings, Inc. operates a global, two-sided digital payments network that connects consumers and merchants, with a stated mission to revolutionize commerce globally. Its products are designed to make selling, shopping, and sending and receiving money simple, personalized, and secure, online or in-person. As of December 31, 2025, the platform had 439 million active accounts across approximately 200 markets. In 2025 it processed $1.79 trillion of total payment volume (up 7%) and 25.4 billion payment transactions (down 4%). Revenue comes mainly from fees on payment transactions and related services, plus currency conversion, instant transfers to bank accounts or debit cards, and cryptocurrency purchases and sales. Other value-added revenue includes partnerships, interest and fees on credit products, interest on assets underlying customer balances, referral and subscription fees, and gateway services.

For consumers, the company offers PayPal and Venmo digital wallets for online and in-person checkout, money management (including saving and buying and selling cryptocurrencies), and person-to-person transfers through PayPal, Venmo, and the Xoom international money transfer service. Funding options include bank accounts, account balances, PayPal- and Venmo-branded debit and credit cards, other cards, certain cryptocurrencies, and gift cards. Consumer credit includes buy now, pay later products in the U.S., Germany, France, the U.K., Australia, and other markets, and in Japan through Paidy, as well as installment products, PayPal Credit, and co-branded credit cards issued with an independent chartered financial institution. For merchants, it provides branded checkout (PayPal and Venmo), unbranded payments processing, BNPL, point of sale tools, payouts (including Hyperwallet), payments orchestration, fraud and risk tools, and business financing through PayPal Working Capital and PayPal Business Loan. Buyer and seller protection programs are also offered. Growth initiatives include branded checkout, omnichannel and agentic commerce, advertising services, the PayPal USD stablecoin, and PayPal World wallet interoperability.

Customers range from individual consumers to large enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses. Consumers can send payments in about 200 markets and approximately 140 currencies, withdraw funds in 57 currencies, and hold balances in 24 currencies.

The payments platform combines proprietary and third-party technology, hosted by third-party cloud providers or the company's own data centers, with open APIs and developer tools. It connects with financial services providers worldwide. Research and development expense was $1.5 billion in both 2025 and 2024. The company competes with banks and financial institutions, card networks and processors, digital wallets, BNPL and installment providers, real-time payment systems, P2P and remittance services, point-of-sale technologies, crypto and stablecoin providers, and cash and checks. It operates under extensive regulation, including money transmitter licenses held through PayPal, Inc. in the U.S., a New York BitLicense, the GENIUS Act stablecoin framework, and supervision of foreign subsidiaries by local financial regulators.