PayPal's New CEO Bets on Going It Alone After $50 Billion Buyout Stalls

PayPal’s New CEO Bets on Going It Alone After $50 Billion Buyout Stalls --> By PYMNTS | September 13, 2026 Share: --> | Listen to Article Listen --> PayPal is moving forward without a buyer, at least for now. CEO Enrique Lores is building a plan to run the payments giant as a stand-alone company after a proposed $50 billion-plus sale fell apart this summer. Many investors still doubt he can turn the business around alone. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required. yes Subscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today. By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions . Δ According to The Wall Street Journal, Lores wants to fix parts of PayPal’s business that have struggled for years, launch new features and cut billions in costs. He’s doing this in a payments market that keeps shifting, one where PayPal has often moved first but hasn’t cashed in on its own ideas, the Journal reported. A key piece of his plan is Venmo, which he wants to turn from a low-profit app into a full money-management tool with budgeting and investing built in. He also wants a more rewarding, easier-to-use checkout button, since that business has slowed as Apple Pay and Google Wallet took over much of the digital wallet market. We’d love to be your preferred source for news . Please add us to your preferred sources list so our news, data and interviews show up in your feed. Thanks! Add as Preferred Source Lores made his case in public for the first time this week. “What we have done is to first look at the strategy that we have, have confidence in the strategy that we have, and use this as a benchmark to compare any other alternatives,” he said, the Journal reported. Rival Stripe and private equity firm Advent International had offered about $60.50 a share for PayPal this summer, and the stock jumped on the news. The two sides couldn’t agree on price, though, and shares have since slid back to around $53 from a high above $62. Lores, a longtime HP executive who became CEO in February, could earn a $25 million bonus if the stock averages above $68 for 60 days, and more than $60 million if it hits $125. His turnaround also leans on Venmo’s crypto trading and PYUSD stablecoin, and on catching up to rivals like Cash App, Robinhood and Chime, all of which have added banking features. Some analysts remain skeptical, with one comparing PayPal’s stock to a melting ice cube. PYMNTS has followed this story closely, reporting when Stripe and Advent first made their $53 billion play for PayPal , when PayPal’s board called that bid inadequate , and when Advent and Stripe walked away from the deal. PYMNTS also covered Venmo’s app overhaul , part of PayPal’s push to make Venmo what one executive called the “go-to money movement app.” Recommended PayPal’s New CEO Bets on Going It Alone After $50 Billion Buyout Stalls Student Loan Borrowers Scramble to Pick New Repayment Plans Apollo Scaling Back Services at Invoice Finance Company Eliant Lawyer Sanctioned After AI Generates Fake Witnesses in Murder Appeal See More In: News , PayPal , PYMNTS News , Stripe , Venmo , What's Hot