Getting In Cheap On PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) Might Be Difficult

Simply Wall St
·3 min read
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PayPal Holdings, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:PYPL) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 48.4x might make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 13x and even P/E's below 7x are quite common. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so lofty.

While the market has experienced earnings growth lately, PayPal Holdings' earnings have gone into reverse gear, which is not great. It might be that many expect the dour earnings performance to recover substantially, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

See our latest analysis for PayPal Holdings

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Want the full picture on analyst estimates for the company? Then our free report on PayPal Holdings will help you uncover what's on the horizon.

Does Growth Match The High P/E?

PayPal Holdings' P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the market.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 58% decrease to the company's bottom line. As a result, earnings from three years ago have also fallen 17% overall. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 34% per year during the coming three years according to the analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 9.6% per year, which is noticeably less attractive.

In light of this, it's understandable that PayPal Holdings' P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.

The Bottom Line On PayPal Holdings' P/E

Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

We've established that PayPal Holdings maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

Having said that, be aware PayPal Holdings is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, you should know about.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with a strong growth track record, trading on a P/E below 20x.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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