PayPal Holdings Inc.’s revenue and user growth came in slightly ahead of expectations Wednesday, but the payment-technology giant cut its outlook for the full year.
The company posted first-quarter net income of $509 million, or 42 cents a share, down from $1.1 billion, or 92 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. On an adjusted basis, PayPal
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earned 88 cents a share, down from $1.22 a share a year earlier and flat with the FactSet consensus, which was for 88 cents a share.
PayPal’s revenue climbed to $6.5 billion from $6.0 billion a year prior, while analysts tracked by FactSet had been looking for $6.4 billion.
“We have much to be proud of, but we know we can continue to do even better,” Chief Executive Dan Schulman said in a statement.
Shares bounced between gains and losses in after-hours trading Wednesday, following a rough start to the year. PayPal’s stock has fallen more than 50% in 2022 as the company undergoes a number of business transitions.
PayPal disclosed in conjunction with its previous report that it would focus less on absolute user growth as it worked to engage its more valuable users, a move that surprised Wall Street. Additionally, it announced earlier in the month that Chief Financial Officer John Rainey would be leaving for Walmart Inc.
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PayPal generated $323 billion in total payment volume in its latest quarter, up from $285 billion a year earlier and even with the FactSet consensus, which was for $323 billion. PayPal had 429 million active accounts as of the March quarter, compared with 426 million as of the December quarter and 392 million as of the prior March quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were modeling 428.4 million active accounts.
For the June quarter, PayPal expects adjusted earnings per share of about 86 cents on revenue of roughly $6.8 billion. Analysts were expecting $1.12 in adjusted EPS and revenue of $7.1 billion.
PayPal also cut its outlook for the full year, a move that several analysts were watching for coming into the report. The company now expects revenue growth of 11% to 13% on the year, equating to $28.16 billion to $28.67 billion. PayPal also anticipates $3.81 to $3.93 in adjusted EPS.
The company’s prior forecast, issued with its December-quarter earnings report, was for 15% to 17% revenue growth and $4.60 to $4.75 in adjusted EPS. The FactSet consensus was for $29.26 billion in revenue and $4.62 in adjusted EPS.