On 23 February 2026, the PayPal Inc. share price shot up by 9% and the shares rose to about $44.05 per share after Bloomberg reported that major financial institutions were discussing a potential takeover of the company.
The company, which at one point was referred to as the pandemic darling by virtue of its success in the industry, has lost 85% of its worth to its 2021 high, thanks to heightened competition and a leaner consumer environment.
Talks Heat Up
Sources have suggested that PayPal has received a number of deals involving unwanted acquisition companies including an outright takeover bid by a leading competitor, and other prospective acquirers are interested in particular assets, including Venmo or Braintree.
The bids are still in its early days and no business has been closed yet but the prospects seem to be good due to a major dip in the performance of the company.
Bernstein’s Harshita Rawat wrote that:
she thought private equity would be the most likely suitor for PayPal in its entirety, in part due to the company’s “pristine balance sheet.” Other less likely possibilities include Elon Musk, a PayPal cofounder who’s now trying to carry out an “everything-app strategy” but who Rawat said would face “liquidity constraints,” as well as large technology companies that may see strategic value in PayPal but could encounter regulatory hurdles if they tried to acquire it.
Recent Struggles Exposed
PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL) reported fourth-quarter earnings for fiscal year 2025, and the results fell short of Wall Street expectations. The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.23, which was lower than expected at $1.29, representing a 4.65% decrease.
Revenue fell short of expectations, totaling $8.68 billion instead of the expected $8.79 billion. In pre-market trading, PayPal’s stock fell 16.26% to $43.82, indicating investor disappointment.
The presence of Apple Inc. and Google Inc. as competitors have weakened PayPal’s dominance in checkouts and high interest rates have inhibited spending, leading to a reduced increase in the retail total-payment-volume because people are focusing more on the basic necessities.
Outlook: Revival or Sale?
After hiring Enrique Lores, as President and CEO, effective March 1, 2026, the company must move quickly to complete its operations in a market that is generally weak. In the last three months, 35 Wall Street analysts have provided 12-month price targets for PayPal Holdings.
With a high forecast of $74.00 and a low forecast of $34.00, the average price target is $51.29. Compared to the previous price of $44.05., the average price target represents a 16.43% change.
According to the analyst’s research note, shares plummeted after a management change, a weakened outlook, and the recognition of share losses in important markets like Germany, all of which confirmed long-standing investor concerns.
As the acquisition bids may become a reality, the presence of a private-equity deal would unlock a large amount of value; otherwise, Lores would have to face a make-or-buy scenario to put the digital payments business back on its path in 2027.
