PayPal's Branded Checkout Struggles Drag Stock Down 83%

PayPal's stock has been struggling in recent years, despite its past success. The fintech company is currently trading at an 83% discount to its record high of $305.13 set on July 29, 2021.

The payments industry is highly competitive, with companies like Visa and Mastercard dominating the market. However, PayPal's total payment volume (TPV) has been growing, rising by 56% from Q2 2021 to Q2 2026. This growth has helped drive revenue up by 40%, while free cash flow has increased by 64%.

Despite these encouraging financial trends, the company's branded checkout solution has been struggling. In the first and second quarters of this year, TPV in this segment was only up by 2%. This could signal that PayPal is losing its sway among merchants and consumers to competitors like Apple Pay.

To reach its previous all-time high again, PayPal's branded checkout solution needs to start picking up steam. The company's cheap price-to-earnings ratio of 10.2 makes it a value stock candidate, but the road ahead will be challenging.