PayPal Shares Soar on OpenAI Partnership. Is It Too Late to Buy the Stock?

Core Insights - PayPal's shares increased following strong Q3 results and a new partnership with OpenAI, although the stock is still down approximately 14% year-to-date [1][5] - The partnership with OpenAI will integrate PayPal's payment processing into ChatGPT, allowing users to check out directly through the chatbot [4][5] Financial Performance - PayPal's revenue rose by 7% to $8.42 billion, with adjusted earnings per share (EPS) increasing by 12% to $1.34, surpassing analyst expectations [5][6] - Transaction margin dollars grew by 6% to $3.87 billion, a key metric indicating profitability from payment processing [6] - Total payment volumes (TPV) increased by 8% to $458.1 billion, with notable growth in Venmo at 14% [6][7] User Metrics - Payment transactions decreased by 5% to 6.3 billion, with a 6% drop in transactions per active account to 57.6 [7] - Active accounts grew by 1% year-over-year to 438 million, while monthly active accounts rose by 2% to 227 million [7] Future Outlook - For Q4, the company forecasts adjusted EPS between $1.27 and $1.31, with transaction margin dollars expected to grow by 2% to 5% [8] - The full-year adjusted EPS forecast has been raised to a range of $5.35 to $5.39, indicating a growth of 15% to 16% [9] Strategic Direction - PayPal is pursuing growth through traditional methods and innovative AI partnerships, positioning itself for advancements in AI-powered e-commerce [10] - The stock is currently trading at a forward P/E ratio of about 13 times 2026 analyst estimates, suggesting an attractive valuation [11]