PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ:PYPL) today announced fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results, marking a pivotal turning point in its multi-year turnaround.
The San Jose-based fintech leader posted fourth-quarter revenue of $8.82 billion, a 5% increase year-over-year, while non-GAAP earnings per share reached $1.31, hitting the top end of management's previous guidance.
For the full year 2025, revenue rose to $33.3 billion, and the company delivered record non-GAAP EPS of $5.39.
The quarter’s outperformance was anchored by a significant inflection in "branded checkout" volume—PayPal's core, high-margin button—which grew 6% after several quarters of stagnation.
Management attributed this recovery to the rapid rollout of "Fastlane by PayPal," a guest checkout solution that has significantly improved conversion rates for merchants.
Additionally, the company highlighted the initial success of its landmark partnership with OpenAI, which integrates PayPal’s payment rails directly into ChatGPT’s emerging commerce ecosystem to power "agentic" shopping experiences.
"2025 was the year we restored PayPal to profitable growth," said President and CEO Alex Chriss.
"By embracing AI and streamlining our checkout experience, we have made PayPal more relevant to both consumers and merchants than it has been in years."
During the fourth quarter, PayPal returned $1.6 billion to shareholders via buybacks and declared its second-ever quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, underscoring its shift from a pure-growth play to a disciplined capital-return powerhouse.
Looking ahead to 2026, PayPal issued an optimistic outlook, forecasting mid-teens EPS growth and free cash flow exceeding $6 billion.