Sarat Sethi, Managing Partner, Douglas C. Lane & Associates PayPal Holdings Inc. PYPL-Q BUY Oct 14, 2024

He called up a five year chart to look at the bigger picture pattern. He likes the cup formation with a trend down and then trending up but not aggressively. The lows and highs are getting higher. It is not overbought. There are enough fundamentals that the stock could do well.
Buy 27  Hold 25  Sell 2

Buying value in technology is often a misstep, but this one came through. Has resurrected growth in a few areas. Venmo has helped. Had a nice move, so he took his $$ off the table.

He likes this company and chart. The 4-year chart shows a base, then break out. One of the best tech charts, because it's not overdone. The company is making strides in getting its business into different venues.

A fine CEO. Buy some shares now, and if it declines before February, buy more.

It reports Tuesday. The new CEO is returning PYPL to solid growth. Once dominant, PYPL sank to the buy-now, pay-later companies, but seems to be returning.

Their quarter disappointed. Watch their analysts' meeting and five-year plan. The new CEO is doing a good job.

Horrible experience owning it, and hasn't looked at fundamentals lately. Facing competition from so many angles. Good business, but not great. Valuation kind of attractive, but it's in the "too hard" pile.

The company has some challenges, no doubt, but these are starting to be reflected in the valuation, now at just 13X earnings. EPS did beat estimates in the Q1, by 15%. PayPal is making progress with sustainable transaction-margin dollar gains, up 7% in 1Q, driven by branded checkout, Venmo and a deceleration in Braintree. The EPS beat in 1Q and maintained 2025 guidance of high-single-digit adjusted EPS gains leave room for absorbing tariff pain and allow for strategic reinvestment in growth initiatives in 2025. Adjusted operating margin widened 270 bps sequentially, paving the way for further efficiency gains. Despite fading interest-income tailwinds and slowing unbranded volume gains (2% FX neutral in 1Q), higher-margin branded transaction growth remains steady (6%). PYPL plans to buy back $6 billion of shares in 2025, with $6-$7 billion in free cash flow, after 1Q repurchases of $1.5 billion. Exposure to China is limited to under 2% of volume. While still not a favourite of ours, we think there is enough here at the right valuation now to give it some more time.
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