Shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) continued their upward move on Tuesday as takeover chatter crystallized around a named potential buyer. The stock rose for a second straight trading day after reports surfaced that payments processor Stripe is interested in buying either all of PayPal or select units.
The move came after an earlier, broader report that PayPal had attracted takeover interest; that initial disclosure pushed shares up 5.8% on Monday. On Tuesday the stock added another 6.7% following the report naming Stripe as a possible acquirer.
Valuation snapshots and target assets
Analysts have parsed PayPal into distinct units and assigned rough standalone values. Bernstein analyst Harshita Rawat estimated PayPal’s Braintree business could be worth between $10 billion and $15 billion. Bernstein places Venmo at approximately $5 billion and values PayPal’s core business in the range of $20 billion to $25 billion. Rawat also flagged other potential bidders for all or parts of PayPal, including private equity firms, Revolut, and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP). She additionally suggested that JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) could have an interest in Braintree.
Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev emphasized the comparative scale of Stripe and PayPal in market-capitalization terms. Dolev cited an estimated valuation for Stripe of $159 billion versus a roughly $43 billion market capitalization for PayPal, calling a transaction feasible from a size perspective.
Strategic rationale offered by analysts
Dolev highlighted Stripe’s significant position in e-commerce payments, citing an approximate $1.4 trillion in total payment volume processed by Stripe. He noted that acquiring PayPal’s Braintree unit would add roughly $700 billion of total payment volume, representing a material increase that could strengthen Stripe’s scale versus competitors such as Adyen.
Beyond scale, Dolev observed a gap in Stripe’s consumer-facing footprint. While Stripe is widely viewed as a strong business-to-business payments provider, it lacks the same last-mile consumer recognition that PayPal and Venmo possess. PayPal remains a globally recognized consumer payments network, and Venmo is frequently cited as a leading consumer peer-to-peer payments brand. Dolev also suggested that a combined Stripe-PayPal platform could play a meaningful role in the development of stablecoin use as stablecoins become more important for commerce.
Market reaction and next steps
Market participants responded to the reports with notable buying interest in PayPal shares across two sessions. Observers continue to evaluate which bidders, if any, would pursue the full company or carve-out assets such as Braintree or Venmo. Both PayPal and Stripe declined to comment on the speculation.
Analysts and potential bidders named in public commentary include Bernstein’s Harshita Rawat and Mizuho’s Dan Dolev, as well as firms and institutions discussed as potential acquirers or interested parties: private equity firms, Revolut, American Express, and JPMorgan Chase.
The situation remains fluid as market participants digest the implications for competitive dynamics in payments, consumer fintech, and broader M&A activity within financial services.