2021 was one of the strongest years in PayPal’s history, but the company is now cashing in on slower growth. The pioneer of electronic payments reported fourth-quarter revenue in line with Wall Street forecasts, but missed its earnings forecast, as well as its quarterly and annual outlook.
The report sent PayPal stock down 16% late in the session. The report follows a disappointing third-quarter report in November, in which PayPal missed revenue guidance and slashed its full-year outlook.
“2021 was one of the strongest years in PayPal’s history. We reached $1.250 billion in total payments volume and launched more products and experiences than ever before. The future is in our direction, and we are investing in our capabilities as consumers and merchants to seize the opportunity before us,” said Dan Schulman, CEO of PayPal.
9.8 million new active accounts
Revenue for the quarter ended December 2021 was $6.9 billion, delivering net income of $1.11 per share, excluding certain costs. Analysts had expected $6.9 billion and $1.12 per share.
PayPal says its total payments volume, or “TPV,” grew 23% to $339.5 billion, and the company ended the quarter with 426 million active accounts, up 13 %. PayPal welcomed 9.8 million new active accounts, including 3.2 million from Paidy, a Japanese company specializing in deferred payments acquired last September.
For the current quarter, the company expects revenue to increase by 6%, or the equivalent of $6.395 billion. These figures are to be compared to the consensus which provided for 6.76 billion dollars and 1.16 dollars per share.
For the full year 2022, the company expects revenue to grow 15-17%, to a range of $29.2 billion to $29.7 billion. The company expects its total payment volume to increase by 19% to 22% this year, it estimates.
Source: ZDNet.com