PayPal shares pop after solid Q2 results, transaction margin growth

PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) reported Q2 earnings and revenue that topped analyst expectations, sending its shares rising 8.5% following the opening bell on Tuesday.

The company posted Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $1.19, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98. Revenue for the quarter was $7.9 billion, slightly above the projected $7.82 billion.

Total payment volume reached $416.81 billion, up 11% year-over-year, close to the analyst forecast of $417.27 billion.

Transaction revenue came in at $7.15 billion, a 9.1% increase year-over-year, exceeding the estimate of $7.08 billion. The transaction margin growth was reported at 8%, which Mizuho analysts believe was one of the highlights of the report.

"As we noted in our preview yesterday, we expected slowing Braintree to help drive a positive inflection in transaction margin growth. We expect this to have a very positive impact on the stock," they said.

Active customer accounts totaled 429 million, a slight decrease of 0.5% year-over-year, but above the estimate of 427.47 million.

Adjusted free cash flow stood at $1.14 billion for the quarter, also above the analysts expectations of $1.06 billion.

Looking ahead, PayPal expects to buy back $6 billion in shares, up from a previous forecast of at least $5 billion. Free cash flow is projected to be about $6 billion, also up from the previous estimate of about $5 billion.

For the third quarter, PayPal sees adjusted EPS rising by high single digits and revenue growing by mid-single digits.

For the full fiscal year, PayPal anticipates adjusted EPS growth in the low to mid-teens, compared to the prior forecast of mid- to high-single-digit growth.

By Vahid Karaahmetovic

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