PayPal Holdings (PYPL) came under pressure after reporting its 2026 Q1 earnings. Investors had reacted negatively due to weak forward guidance rather than to strong results. The stock also fell about 10% on May 5 and has continued the decline, now trading at around $46.
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Despite recording strong results, analysts and investors remained cautious as they await future growth reports. That change in tone drove selling pressure and led to multiple downgrades and price cuts from analysts.
Earnings Beat Overshadowed by Weak Outlook
PayPal shares dropped about 10% after rising by over 3% in pre-market trading on the day of its earnings call. The stock fell from $50 to near $45.0, reflecting strong bearish sentiment.
Notably, PayPal reported a Q1 2026 earnings beat, with revenue and earnings per share above Wall Street’s expectations. Despite that, investors were unimpressed, mainly because the payment giant said it expects weaker results in Q2. Because of this, a positive shift in sentiment now depends on whether PayPal’s recent growth can hold steady.
Competition has also put extra pressure on the stock, with payment service firms like Apple (AAPL), Visa (V), and Mastercard (MA) posting strong Q1 results. Even fintech companies like Stripe are challenging PayPal, while stablecoin systems bring new competition to the PYUSD payment network.
Analysts’ Ratings Show Mixed Bearish Views on PYPL
Wall Street sentiment on PayPal is severely negative. Most analysts from top research and financial firms have maintained their Hold and Sell ratings. The strong Q1 earnings have done little to quell concerns, as investors await more sustainable growth signals.
Following PYPL’s price decline to $46, analysts reiterated their downside targets. As of May 6, Will Nance from Goldman Sachs cut his target from $41 to $40 and maintained a Sell rating. Similarly, Matthew Coad from Truist Financial kept his Sell rating and issued no price targets.
Meanwhile, Wells Fargo leaned more bearish as Andrew Bauch reiterated his Hold rating and projected a decline from $52 to $46.
For the more bullish outlooks, Bryan Bergin from TD Cowen has set a new price target of $48, implying a 4.08% gain from current levels. However, he still kept his Hold rating. Other experts, such as Daniel Perlin at RBC Capital, have reiterated his $59 price target for PYPL, implying a 27.9% upside.
Is PayPal a Good Stock to Have?
TipRanks analyst data shows mixed analyst views on PayPal (PYPL), with the majority leaning bearish. However, the stock’s consensus rating from 26 Wall Street analysts is Hold. The average price target for PYPL is also set at about $49.28, reflecting a 6.6% upside from its current price of around $47. For more information, investors can track PayPal’s stock ratings, price targets, and performance metrics on the TipRanks Stocks Comparison Center.
