PayPal Q4 Earnings: Revenue Beat, EPS Beat, Payment Volumes Up 15%, Active Accounts Down 2%, Soft Guidance And More

PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL reported fourth-quarter financial results Wednesday after the bell. Here’s a look at the key metrics from the quarter.

Q4 Earnings: PayPal’s fourth-quarter revenue increased 9% year-over-year to $8.03 billion, which beat the consensus estimate of $7.87 billion, according to Benzinga Pro. The company reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $1.48 per share, which beat analyst estimates of $1.36 per share.

Total payment volumes increased 15% year-over-year to $409.8 billion in the fourth quarter. Payment transactions were up 13% in the quarter and payment transactions per active account increased 14% on a trailing 12 month basis. Total active accounts decreased 2% to 426 million.

Operating cash flow came in at $2.6 billion and free cash flow was $2.5 billion. PayPal ended the quarter with cash, cash equivalents and investments of $17.3 billion.

“I'm pleased with our better-than-expected fourth quarter results, which are a testament to the incredible work of the PayPal team and their strong commitment to delivering more value to our customers each day,” said Alex Chriss, president and CEO of PayPal.

“We’re driving significant transformation across our company and are committed to making the necessary changes to our business to drive profitable growth in the years ahead.”

Outlook: PayPal expects first-quarter revenues to increase approximately 6.5%. First-quarter adjusted earnings per share are expected to grow in the mid-single digit range compared to earnings per share of $1.17 in the prior year’s period.

PayPal expects full-year 2024 adjusted earnings to be in line with full-year 2023 earnings of $5.10 per share. Current analyst estimates are calling for full-year earnings of $5.48 per share, per Benzinga Pro.

“We’ve added key talent to our leadership team, accelerated our innovation velocity and impact, and taken action to realize cost savings that we’re reinvesting in our most important initiatives. 2024 is a year focused on execution to position PayPal for long-term success,” Chriss said.

Management will hold a conference call to discuss these results at 5 p.m. ET.

Check This Out: PayPal Is Resilient Despite Challenges: Here’s What Analysts Were Focusing On Ahead Of Q4 Earnings

PYPL Price Action: PayPal shares were down 2.28% after hours at $61.80 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: courtesy of PayPal.