It’s truthful to say that PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) has underperformed. Yr thus far, the expansion inventory is down about 20%. Because of this slide, it’s now about 80% beneath its highs.

Is there potential for a rebound in 2024? Let’s have a look.

Why the share worth has tanked

This yr, there have been a number of elements which have damage PayPal’s share worth.

One is considerations over competitors from Apple Pay. Many buyers are frightened this might make PayPal’s providers out of date.

One other is the corporate’s revenue margins. In its Q2 outcomes, the corporate reported a non-GAAP working margin of 21.4%, beneath its earlier estimate of twenty-two%.

Then, in its Q3 outcomes, it reported an working margin of twenty-two.2% versus 22.4% a yr earlier. It additionally minimize its annual forecast of adjusted working margin enlargement to 0.75% from 1%.

Oversold?

Now, I believe the competitors from Apple Pay is a respectable threat right here. Nowadays, it’s really easy to pay for issues with this service from the iPhone maker. So this undoubtedly provides some uncertainty to the funding case.

Nevertheless, I’d argue that this threat is baked into PayPal’s share worth and valuation. For 2024, analysts anticipate the enterprise to generate earnings per share of $5.55 (versus a forecast of $4.95 for 2023).

So on the present share worth, the corporate has a forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of about 10. That’s low.

It’s price declaring that PayPal remains to be rising at a wholesome price as we speak. For Q3, the corporate reported whole fee quantity (TPV) of $387.7bn, up 13% on a continuing forex foundation and internet revenues of $7.4bn, up 9% forex impartial.

And for 2023, it expects earnings progress of round 20%.

It’s additionally price declaring that Paypal doesn’t solely function within the retail funds area. It additionally operates within the enterprise funds area by means of its Braintree division, which processes transactions for the likes of Uber (it just lately signed a multi-year world deal right here), Airbnb, and Stubhub.

Analysis agency MoffettNathanson estimates that Braintree income climbed to $8.4bn final yr (about 30% of whole revenues) from $6.2bn in 2021. So Apple Pay is unlikely to utterly wipe out the enterprise.

In mild of this progress, and the diversified enterprise mannequin, a P/E ratio of 10 appears too low, to my thoughts.

PayPal nonetheless has believers

One portfolio supervisor who remains to be bullish on PayPal is Nick Prepare, who owns the inventory in his world fairness fund.

In a current fund factsheet, he wrote: “Whereas the short-term considerations are comprehensible, we proceed to imagine that funds is a large enough marketplace for a number of rivals, and PayPal is without doubt one of the few gamers that has the vital mass of energetic prospects and retailers, which is so onerous for challengers to copy.”

Loads of brokers are optimistic too. For instance, Canaccord Genuity, which has a ‘purchase’ ranking on the inventory and a worth goal of $100, believes innovation may assist the corporate regain and maintain double-digit progress.

Placing all this collectively, I believe PayPal inventory is price a better look proper now. I believe there’s potential for a rebound in 2024.