PayPal NASDAQ:PYPL is dividing Wall Street after stronger second-quarter earnings and an improved full-year outlook prompted nine analysts to raise their price targets, even as Goldman Sachs maintained a Sell rating. The split reflects a sharper investor debate: PayPal's turnaround is producing results, but its core growth and margin pressures remain unresolved.
Shares gained about 4% Tuesday to $58.32 after adjusted earnings reached $1.38 per share, beating the $1.28 consensus estimate. Revenue rose 5% to $8.68 billion, while total payment volume increased 9% on a currency-neutral basis to $486.4 billion. PayPal raised its full-year adjusted earnings forecast to approximately $5.38 per share.
Goldman analyst Will Nance lifted his target to $50 from $48 but retained a Sell rating, implying about 14% downside from Tuesday's close. Barclays and Wells Fargo raised their targets to $57, while TD Cowen moved to $59 and Citi to $61, leaving much of Wall Street close to PayPal's current valuation.
More optimistic analysts see greater upside. RBC Capital raised its target to $65, Susquehanna moved to $67, and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted its objective to $70, implying roughly 20% upside. Those calls suggest growing confidence in CEO Enrique Lores' restructuring program and PayPal's efforts to improve Venmo, debit-card, and buy-now-pay-later adoption. Lores became CEO on March 1.
Investor Takeaway on Paypal Stock
The disagreement centres on earnings quality. Transaction-margin dollars increased only 1%, while adjusted operating margin contracted to 17.4% from 19.8%. PayPal also expects adjusted third-quarter profit to decline by a low-single-digit percentage.
Investors should watch branded-checkout growth, transaction margins and whether planned savings reach $400 million in 2026. Stronger Venmo monetisation and sustained payment-volume growth would support the higher targets. Persistent margin compression or weak checkout growth would validate Goldman's caution, even after the earnings beat.