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Tue, 27 Oct 2026
BreakingEarnings

PayPal raises 2026 non-GAAP EPS guidance to about $5.60

PayPal also raised its non-GAAP transaction margin dollar guidance and reaffirmed, not raised, its GAAP EPS guidance, now about $5.07. Q3 net revenues rose 2% year on year; GAAP EPS fell 4%.

By AI markets desk·Sources: 3 sources·Published ·AI-generated·2 min read
Key facts
  • Net revenues · Q3 20268.584 $bn +2% vs Q3 2025 ($8.417bn)
  • Diluted EPS (non-GAAP) · Q3 20261.45 $ +8% vs Q3 2025 ($1.34)
  • Diluted EPS (GAAP) · Q3 20261.25 $ -4% vs Q3 2025 ($1.30)
  • Transaction margin dollars (non-GAAP) · Q3 20263.950 $bn +2% vs Q3 2025 ($3.871bn)
  • 2026 non-GAAP EPS guidance · Guidance issued 27 October 2026about 5.60 $ Was about $5.38 (28 July)
  • 2026 GAAP EPS guidance · Guidance issued 27 October 2026about 5.07 $ Reaffirmed; July gave no dollar figure
Outlook changeRaised

Non-GAAP diluted EPS FY 2026

New$5.60

Point estimates given as approximate figures; previous figure issued 28 July 2026

Source: PayPal Q3 2026 and Q2 2026 results releases (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1), Guidance issued 27 October 2026.

PayPal Holdings now expects 2026 non-GAAP earnings per share of about $5.60, up from about $5.38 in the guidance it issued on 28 July 2026, according to its third-quarter results release of 27 October 2026. By Polstob's calculation, that is an increase of about 4%. The company also raised its full-year guidance for transaction margin dollars, a non-GAAP measure, but did not give that figure in the release. GAAP EPS guidance was reaffirmed: PayPal now puts it at about $5.07, after the July release described it only as a mid-single-digit decline from $5.41 in 2025. The July release had also raised the full-year non-GAAP outlook.

In the third quarter, net revenues rose 2% to $8.584bn from $8.417bn a year earlier, or 1% on a currency-neutral basis. Non-GAAP EPS rose 8% to $1.45 from $1.34, while GAAP EPS fell 4% to $1.25 from $1.30. In July, PayPal had guided to a low-single-digit decline in third-quarter non-GAAP EPS. GAAP net income fell 14% to $1.073bn and non-GAAP net income fell 3% to $1.245bn, while the diluted share count used for both per-share figures dropped to 858m from 960m a year earlier. GAAP operating income fell 8% to $1.402bn, a margin of 16.3% against 18.1%; non-GAAP operating income rose 3% to $1.613bn, a margin of 18.8% against 18.6%.

Q3 2026 vs Q3 2025, GAAP and non-GAAP
ItemsQ3 2026Q3 2025Change
Operating income (GAAP)$1,402m$1,520m−7.8%
Operating income (non-GAAP)$1,613m$1,568m+2.9%

as of Three months to 30 September 2026. Sources below.

Transaction margin dollars, which PayPal calculates as net revenues minus transaction expense and transaction and credit losses, rose 2% to $3.950bn from $3.871bn a year earlier; excluding interest on customer balances, the measure rose 3% to $3.661bn. Total payment volume grew 6% to $487.1bn, or 7% currency-neutral, and payment transactions rose 7% to 6.8bn. Active accounts were up 0.6% year on year at 440m. Restructuring and other costs rose to $255m from $69m a year earlier; the non-GAAP adjustments to operating income included $178m of restructuring. For the full year, PayPal said its non-GAAP guidance reflects about $570m of adjustments, against about $350m in July, when that figure left out possible second-half transformation charges.

For the fourth quarter of 2026, PayPal guides to non-GAAP EPS of about $1.43, against $1.23 in the fourth quarter of 2025, and GAAP EPS of about $1.37, against $1.53. It spent $1.5bn buying back about 28 million shares in the third quarter and $6.0bn on about 117 million shares over the trailing 12 months. The board declared a dividend of $0.14 per share, payable on 24 December 2026 to holders of record on 4 December 2026. Free cash flow (non-GAAP) was $1.431bn in the quarter, against $1.718bn a year earlier. Cash, cash equivalents and investments totalled $15.1bn and debt $13.5bn at 30 September 2026.