Overview
- Bloomberg-reported sourcing says Stripe is evaluating a purchase of all or selected PayPal businesses, with both companies declining to comment and no formal proposal announced.
- PayPal shares rose about 7% Tuesday after the Stripe report, following a surge of up to roughly 9% Monday on broader buyout chatter that briefly halted trading for volatility.
- Interest in PayPal has been described as unsolicited and exploratory, with at least one large rival examining a full acquisition and others eyeing specific assets such as Venmo, Braintree, or the BNPL unit.
- Stripe was valued at $159 billion in a new employee tender and reported $1.9 trillion in 2025 payment volume, signaling ample capacity for M&A as PayPal’s market value hovers around the low-$40 billions.
- The developments come as PayPal prepares for a March 1 handover to incoming CEO Enrique Lores following weak results and market-share pressure, and as both firms expand stablecoin and crypto payment rails.