PayPal Not In Talks With Stripe Or Any Other Firm For Takeover: Report

• The process of hiring bankers followed due to a steep decline in PayPal shares that left executives worried it could leave the company vulnerable, as per Semafor.
• Bankers began working with PayPal under former CEO Alex Chriss, who was ousted earlier this year. 
• Bloomberg earlier in the week reported that Stripe has expressed interest in PayPal to acquire all or some assets of the firm. 

Fintech firm PayPal is reportedly not currently in talks to sell itself to Stripe or anyone else. Shares in the company fell nearly 6% at the time of writing. 

The firm has been working for months with bankers to prepare itself for a potential activist campaign or unwanted takeover bid, Semafor reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. 

The process of hiring bankers followed due to a steep decline in PayPal shares that left executives worried it could leave the company vulnerable, the report added. Bankers began working with PayPal under former CEO Alex Chriss, who was ousted earlier this year, it added. 

Stripe Interest

Bloomberg earlier in the week reported that Stripe has expressed interest in PayPal to acquire all or some assets of the firm. 

The deliberations are early and there’s no certainty they’ll lead to a transaction, the report added.

CEO Departure

Earlier this month, PayPal replaced its CEO Alex Chriss, who was appointed with the aim to steer payments through a slow growth period. 

The company's board, which named Chair Enrique Lores as its new president and CEO, said the pace of change and execution under Chriss was not in line with its expectations.

Weak Results

The company in its fourth quarter result statement said that while it delivered “solid performance” during 2025, its “execution has not been where it needs to be, particularly in branded checkout.”

PayPal reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.23 on revenue of $8.68 billion, while Wall Street analysts expected an adjusted EPS of $1.29 on revenue of $8.79 billion, according to Stocktwits data.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

Retail sentiment around PYPL trended in ‘extremely bullish’ territory amid ‘high’ message volume. 

Shares in the company have fallen 41% over the past year. 

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

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