Photo: Sagar Savla / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)
PayPal raises 2026 earnings outlook after Q2 revenue growth
During the quarter, the company repurchased roughly 33 million shares for $1.5 billion.
PayPal posted second-quarter 2026 revenue of $8.7 billion, a 5% increase from a year earlier, as total payment volume climbed 10% to $486.4 billion.
The company processed 6.8 billion payment transactions during the quarter, up 8%, while active accounts reached 439 million and payment transactions per active account rose 3% over the past 12 months. Operating cash flow totaled $2 billion, generating $1.8 billion in free cash flow.
Despite higher payment volumes, PayPal reported softer earnings. GAAP operating income declined 5% to $1.4 billion, while non-GAAP operating income fell 8% to $1.5 billion. GAAP EPS decreased to $1.25 from $1.29 a year earlier, and non-GAAP EPS slipped to $1.38 from $1.40.
The company said these results were affected by an approximately $0.07 negative contribution from its strategic investment portfolio and crypto assets held for investment, compared with a slight positive impact in the second quarter of 2025.
PayPal finished the quarter with $15.3 billion in cash and investments against $13.4 billion in debt.
The company returned $1.5 billion to shareholders through share repurchases, declared a $0.14 quarterly dividend, and raised its full-year 2026 non-GAAP transaction margin and earnings guidance while maintaining its GAAP EPS forecast, citing confidence in its ongoing business transformation.