PayPal shares are making a splash in their return to the Nasdaq, climbing as much as 11 percent this morning following the company s split from eBay. The stock is currently up about 6.5 percent to $40.90.
PayPal reached highs of $52 billion in market value this morning — with eBay falling to $34 billion — as investors demonstrated their faith in PayPal. Many investors and analysts considered the breakup a freeing of Paypal, allowing the e-payment company to quickly and aggressively expand while eBay rebuilds. (Shares of eBay have rebounded today and are up more than 3.5 percent to $28.95.)
San Jose-based eBay purchased PayPal in 2o02 for $1.3 billion, and PayPal was eBay s fastest-growing division by the time of the split. In 2014, PayPal generated $7.9 billion in sales, nearly half of eBay s total revenue. In the second quarter of this year, PayPal grew 16 percent year over year, while eBay divisions were on the decline.
PayPal, a giant in e-payments, serves 165 million consumers in 200 countries. But other online payment companies, such as the internationally successful Alipay, rising newcomers such as Stripe, and even tech behemoths such as Apple are putting the pressure on PayPal.
Photo: An exterior view of eBay/PayPal offices in San Jose. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
