Argus cuts PayPal to Hold on disappointing guidance

As previously reported, Argus downgraded PayPal to Hold from Buy with no price target. The company’s Q4 results topped consensus but its Q1 and 2024 guidance were disappointing in what the management sees as a “transition year”, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Competition within the online checkout space has placed more pressure on PayPal’s growth rates with a slump of four consecutive quarters in active customer accounts, though the firm continues to expect the company to show long-term growth in payment volumes as it adds merchants, signs additional partnerships, and benefits from the secular shift to digital payments, Argus added.