Is PayPal Among the Best Stocks to Buy Now? Analyzing the Opportunity After CEO Shakeup and Stock Plunge

When PayPal’s stock tumbled roughly 20% following disappointing fourth-quarter earnings and the surprise announcement that CEO Alex Chriss is departing after less than three years, investors faced a critical question: Should this be treated as a buying opportunity, or a red flag? The payments giant reported revenue growth of just 4% and guided for declining earnings per share in 2026—a stark contrast to the company’s earlier transformation promises. Yet beneath these underwhelming numbers lies a compelling case for why PayPal could still emerge among the best stocks to buy now for patient investors.

An Extraordinarily Attractive Valuation Creates Opportunity

Perhaps the most striking aspect of PayPal’s current positioning is its valuation. Trading at less than seven times expected 2026 free cash flow, the stock has reached levels that seem almost too cheap to ignore. Management’s aggressive capital return strategy reinforces this point: based on expected $6 billion in share repurchases this year, PayPal could theoretically retire roughly 15% of its outstanding shares if the depressed valuation persists. This dynamic transforms what might otherwise be a concerning earnings miss into a potential wealth-creation engine for long-term shareholders.

A Pipeline of Growth Initiatives That Could Drive the Next Decade

What makes the bull case particularly compelling is the sheer scope of strategic initiatives underway, most of which haven’t yet meaningfully impacted financial results. Consider the scope: PayPal will become the first integrated payments wallet in OpenAI’s ChatGPT platform launching in 2026. The company is developing new payment solutions with Google to embed across platforms reaching billions of users. A refreshed rewards program for buy-now-pay-later transactions has already launched. Agentic commerce capabilities for merchants are now live, and partnerships with Microsoft are bringing AI-powered Copilot Checkout to market. Additionally, PayPal has applied for an industrial banking charter—a potential game-changer for its financial services capabilities. Collectively, this represents a multi-year growth runway that existing investors haven’t fully priced in.

New Leadership Brings Stability and Strategic Focus

The departure of Chriss might be painful in the short term, but incoming CEO Enrique Lores represents genuine leadership stability. Lores brings 37 years of tenure at Hewlett-Packard, where he successfully navigated a challenging transformational period before ascending to lead the company. His explicit mandate is returning PayPal’s branded checkout to growth—a critical near-term priority that could accelerate results while longer-term AI and commerce initiatives mature.

Reality Check: Results Remain Disappointing and Uncertainty Looms

The counterargument cannot be ignored. PayPal’s recent operational performance has genuinely disappointed. Revenue growth of 4% and earnings-per-share expansion of just 3% fall well short of what shareholders would expect from a company at its scale and with its strategic advantages. The disappointing 2026 guidance—calling for EPS contraction—signals that the growth initiatives executed under prior leadership haven’t delivered the operational improvements the board anticipated. Compounding this challenge is the CEO transition itself: leadership changes invariably introduce near-term uncertainty and execution risk, regardless of the incoming executive’s track record.

The company also faces a structural headwind from lower interest rates, which have compressed a meaningful revenue stream from cash balances. Combined with required business investments, this earnings pressure is real and immediate.

The Investment Decision: Timing, Risk, and the “Best Stocks” Standard

For investors evaluating whether PayPal belongs in a portfolio of best stocks to buy now, the calculus hinges on time horizon and risk tolerance. The sum of PayPal’s advantages—historically low valuation, aggressive buyback program, substantial earnings power demonstrated in past cycles, and a transformative pipeline of AI-driven commerce initiatives—creates a compelling asymmetric opportunity. If even 50% of the announced initiatives gain meaningful traction, the current valuation appears insufficient.

However, the CEO transition and disappointing recent results create legitimate near-term headwinds. Investors must honestly assess whether they can withstand potential further downside before the company’s growth narrative inflects back to positive. For those who can, PayPal’s combination of valuation appeal, shareholder-friendly capital allocation, and long-term strategic positioning makes a strong case for inclusion among today’s best stock opportunities. For others, waiting for greater clarity around the new CEO’s first earnings report remains a defensible, if perhaps more conservative, choice.