PayPal attracts takeover interest after stock slide, Bloomberg News reports

Digital payments company PayPal is attracting takeover interest from potential buyers after a stock slide, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The payments firm ​has fielded meetings with banks amid unsolicited interest from suitors, the report said, adding that at least one large rival is ⁠looking at the whole company, while some other suitors are only interested in ‌certain PayPal assets.

Buyer interest in PayPal is ​still at a preliminary stage and may not lead to a transaction, the Bloomberg report said.

PayPal, which has a market capitalization of more than $38 billion, declined to comment on ⁠the report. Reuters could not independently verify the ‌report.

Shares of the company ‌were last up 7% in afternoon trading. They have lost about 85% of their value since ⁠hitting a record high in mid-2021.

Earlier this month, PayPal replaced CEO Alex Chriss, who was appointed to steer ‌the payments firm through slowing ‌growth and intensifying competition. It issued a weak profit forecast for 2026 that fell well short of Wall Street expectations.

The ⁠company’s board, which named Chair Enrique Lores as ​its new president and ⁠CEO, ​had said the pace of change and execution under Chriss was not in line with its expectations.

PayPal also flagged weaker retail spending as shoppers, squeezed by elevated ⁠interest rates, persistently high cost of living and signs of a softening labor market, cut back on discretionary spending and focus on ⁠essentials.

Investors have feared that the push by Big Tech firms such as Apple and Google into PayPal’s core payments business could chip away at its market ⁠share, despite its position as ‌the legacy leader.

PayPal saw a surge in ​use during ‌the COVID-19 pandemic as consumers shifted to digital payments, ​but growth has since slowed and the company has struggled to sustain that momentum despite a multi-year turnaround plan.