PayPal plunges as dramatic CEO shift coincides with slowing growth

PayPal’s stock fell about 20% after it posted slowing growth in its branded-checkout business and announced a dramatic leadership change, naming Enrique Lores of HP as the new CEO effective March 1. Q4 branded-checkout growth slowed to 1% (currency-adjusted) from ~5% in the prior two quarters, with weakness in U.S. retail, international headwinds and tough comps cited. The company guided to a low-single-digit decline in adjusted EPS for the year, while pushing initiatives to boost a faster, biometrics-enabled checkout and capitalize on Pay With Venmo and BNPL to reignite growth. For Q4, payment volume was $475 billion (up 6% currency-neutral), revenue $8.68 billion, and adjusted EPS $1.23, missing some expectations.