Is PayPal Stock Outperforming Its Rivals?
PayPal‘s stock has significantly underperformed peers over the past year, but how does it truly stack up against its rapidly growing payment and e-commerce rivals as of February 3, 2026? A closer look reveals PayPal‘s notably lower valuation with a PE Ratio of 8.06, contrasting sharply with peers like Visa (30.27), Mastercard (34.90), Shopify (87.08), and Affirm (92.13). While PayPal exhibits solid profitability with an LTM Operating Margin of 19.16% and an LTM Free Cash Flow Margin of 16.93%, these trail the higher margins of payment network leaders Visa and Mastercard. However, its LTM Revenue Growth of 4.47% significantly lags all listed peers, which could suggest potential value but limited immediate upside without growth acceleration.
- PYPL’s 19.2% operating margin, lower than V’s 67.0%, reflects transaction processing costs versus Visa’s high-margin payment network model.
- PYPL’s 4.5% revenue growth lags peers, reflecting e-commerce maturity and competition, versus V/MA’s network growth, SHOP’s merchant expansion, and AFRM’s BNPL surge.
- PYPL’s 53.3% stock drop and 8.1 PE reflect investor growth concerns and competition, as peers V, MA, SHOP, and AFRM demonstrate stronger market traction.
Here’s how PayPal stacks up across size, valuation, and profitability versus key peers.
| PYPL | V | MA | SHOP | AFRM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market Cap ($ Bil) | 39.6 | 629.4 | 497.3 | 155.1 | 21.5 |
| Revenue ($ Bil) | 32.9 | 41.4 | 31.5 | 10.7 | 3.5 |
| PE Ratio | 8.1 | 30.3 | 34.9 | 87.1 | 92.1 |
| LTM Revenue Growth | 4.5% | 12.5% | 15.6% | 30.2% | 37.0% |
| LTM Operating Margin | 19.2% | 67.0% | 59.2% | 15.7% | 15.6% |
| LTM FCF Margin | 16.9% | 55.4% | 51.8% | 17.8% | 22.2% |
| 12M Market Return | -53.3% | -4.2% | -1.8% | 4.3% | 3.0% |
For more details on PayPal, read Buy or Sell PYPL Stock. Below we compare PYPL’s growth, margin, and valuation with peers across years
Revenue Growth Comparison
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| LTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PYPL | 4.5% | – | 6.8% | 8.2% | 8.5% |
| V | 12.5% | 11.3% | 10.0% | 11.4% | |
| MA | 15.6% | – | 12.2% | 12.9% | 17.8% |
| SHOP | 30.2% | – | 25.8% | 26.1% | 21.4% |
| AFRM | 37.0% | 38.8% | 46.3% | 17.7% |
Operating Margin Comparison
| LTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PYPL | 19.2% | – | 18.1% | 16.6% | 14.7% |
| V | 67.0% | 66.4% | 67.0% | 67.2% | |
| MA | 59.2% | – | 58.0% | 58.3% | 57.2% |
| SHOP | 15.7% | – | 14.7% | 1.0% | -12.3% |
| AFRM | 15.6% | 10.5% | -11.4% | -61.8% |
PE Ratio Comparison
| LTM | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PYPL | 8.1 | – | 14.5 | 22.2 | 29.3 |
| V | 30.3 | 34.0 | 32.0 | 30.9 | |
| MA | 34.9 | – | 41.0 | 44.4 | 41.6 |
| SHOP | 87.1 | – | 102.8 | 1032.3 | -28.5 |
| AFRM | 92.1 | 460.5 | -36.4 | -14.7 |
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