PayPal Stock Is Moving Higher Thursday: What's Going On?

PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL shares are trading higher Thursday on the heels of the company's third-quarter results. Here's a look at the key metrics and what appears to be driving shares higher. 

• Q3 Revenue: $7.4 billion beat estimates of $7.384 billion
• Q3 EPS: $1.30 beat estimates of $1.23

Revenues were up 8% year-over-year, while earnings jumped 20%. Total payment volume climbed 13% to $387.7 billion in the quarter. PayPal had 6.3 billion payment transactions in the quarter and saw 56.6 payments per active account over the trailing 12 months.

PayPal had 428 million total active accounts at the end of the quarter, a decrease from 432 million year-over-year. 

Operating cash flow came in at $1.3 billion with free cash flow of $1.1 billion. The company ended the quarter with cash, equivalents and investments of $15.4 billion.

"We will become more efficient so we can innovate and execute with higher velocity. The opportunity to drive greater impact for our customers and unlock profitable growth makes it an exciting time to be at PayPal," said Alex Chriss, president and CEO of PayPal.

PayPal noted that it will appoint Jamie Miller as CFO, effective Nov. 6. 

Outlook: PayPal sees fourth-quarter revenue up 6% to 7% year-over-year. On the conference call, Chriss said the company will look to grow revenue outside of transaction-related volume over time. 

PayPal expects adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of approximately $1.36 per share. Full-year adjusted earnings are expected to be approximately $4.98 per share. 

Following the print, Canaccord Genuity analyst Joseph Vafi maintained PayPal with a Buy rating and lowered the price target from $110 to $100.

See Also: PayPal Q3 Earnings Highlights: Revenue Beat, EPS Beat And More

PYPL Price Action: PayPal shares were up 7.28% at $55.42 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: courtesy of PayPal.