Since its launch in 1998, PayPal has broken one fintech record after another. The company has continually driven the payments market, snapping up high-profile acquisitions like Paidy and Honey, even as it corners more and more of its estimated $110 trillion addressable market.
But as of February 2022, this digital giant seemed to have finally hit an obstacle it couldn’t overcome. Even as it has managed to recover from a staggering 25% loss in stock price, the valuation of the company is still the lowest it’s been since its 2015 IPO.
There are a wide variety of reasons for the dip in PayPal’s valuation. Obviously, the world looks very different now from how it did in 2015; the digital payments field has quickly grown extremely crowded, with upstarts like Block as well as industry titans like Google and Apple staking their own claims. Combine these factors with ongoing supply chain issues and unfavorable interest rates, and PayPal’s recent downturn begins to look downright inevitable.
Despite this most recent setback, however, PayPal is sunny about its prospects for the future, and experts tend to agree, given its recent assertive expansions. Between its unparalleled brand recognition and its SuperApp launch driving up user and transaction numbers, PayPal’s downturn may soon prove to be little more than an opportunity for the company to catch its breath.
