PayPal raised its 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to about $5.60 a share after third-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.45 beat estimates, even as revenue of $8.58 billion fell short.
PayPal raised its full-year 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to about $5.60 a share on Tuesday, up from about $5.38 in July, after third-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.45 a share beat the $1.31 average analyst estimate, even as revenue fell short of expectations.
Net revenue rose 2% to $8.58 billion, or 1% excluding currency moves, against an average estimate of about $8.71 billion, while total payment volume rose to $487.1 billion and transaction margin dollars, the revenue left after transaction costs and losses, rose 2% to $3.95 billion. On standard accounting measures the quarter looked weaker: net income fell to $1.073 billion from $1.248 billion a year earlier, and earnings per share on that basis fell 4% to $1.25 from $1.30. The company also guided fourth-quarter adjusted earnings to about $1.43 a share, above the $1.35 estimate, and full-year earnings on a standard accounting basis to about $5.07 a share, with a non-GAAP operating margin of 18.8%, up 16 basis points.
Chief executive Enrique Lores said the company is beginning to see its strategy translate into financial results, with strong contributions from key growth areas and increasing diversification. The geographic split showed the strain: United States net revenue rose 5.2% to $5.00 billion while international revenue fell 2.2% to $3.58 billion, and chief financial officer Jamie Miller said the impact of tariffs in Europe will continue to drag on fourth-quarter results. PayPal is also working toward $700 million in gross run-rate cost savings by the end of 2026 through more than 2,000 job cuts and a reduction of more than a quarter of managerial roles, according to coverage of the company's savings plan.
The headline figures are consistent across the company's results as reported by Bloomberg Law, dpa-AFX and earnings summaries: adjusted earnings of $1.45, revenue of $8.58 billion and guidance of about $5.60 all appear in each account. Two details varied by compiler and are therefore stated carefully here: total payment volume growth-rate presentations differed slightly between sources, so this article gives the $487.1 billion level rather than a single growth rate, and the consensus revenue and earnings estimates are averages that differ slightly by data provider.
For investors the quarter reads as a turnaround story with an unfinished top line: profit and guidance improved while sales growth stayed slow and international business shrank. Management has signalled 2027 as an investment year with similar earnings growth to 2026, so the next test will be whether that spending rebuilds revenue growth or simply holds profit steady, starting with the fourth-quarter results.