(Bloomberg) — PayPal Holdings Inc.’s payment volume climbed 14% in the first quarter on increased consumer spending globally, giving a boost to the firm’s shares in early trading.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Total payment volume was $403.9 billion in the first quarter, PayPal said in a statement Tuesday, topping analysts’ estimates of $392.9 million. For all of 2024, the firm is expecting earnings per diluted share to be about $3.65, compared with $3.84 the prior year, when it included gains from the sale of Happy Returns — a firm that helps consumers return unwanted items — and from the company’s investment portfolio. The forecast was lower than analysts are expecting.
The company is expecting adjusted earnings per diluted share to increase “by a mid to high single-digit percentage” in 2024 from $3.83, based on new accounting methodology, last year.
PayPal is seeking to curb expenses and right-size the business following a slew of acquisitions. The company overhauled its upper leadership late last year and months later announced plans to cut about 9% of its workforce as part of Chief Executive Officer Alex Chriss’s efforts to boost profits.
The CEO said Tuesday that 2024 “remains a transition year” for the firm. “We are focused on execution – driving our key strategic initiatives, realizing cost savings and reinvesting appropriately to position the company for consistent, high-quality profitable growth in the future,” he said.
Chriss aims to take a particularly close look at PayPal’s relationships with small-business customers, an area where PayPal “took its eye off the ball,” he said on a conference call Tuesday. He said the company aims to correct its approach.
PayPal shares rose 3.5% to $69.40 at 10:19 a.m. in New York. They’ve gained 13% this year.
The company reported $6.53 billion in total operating expenses for the quarter, up from $6.04 billion a year earlier. Transaction margin dollars — a key indicator of expense control — rose 4% to $3.5 billion. Revenue increased 9% to $7.7 billion, higher than analysts estimated.
PayPal plans to repurchase at least $5 billion of shares this year, it said in an investor presentation Tuesday.
(Updates with CEO comment in sixth paragraph, shares in seventh, buybacks in last. A previous version of this story corrected the 2024 forecast in third paragraph.)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is taken from our partners and or from the News Agencies. Copyright and Credit go to the News Agencies, email news@emeatribune.com Follow our WhatsApp verified Channel
