PayPal vs. Block: Which Fintech Stock is a Stronger Buy Right Now?

PayPal PYPL and Block XYZ are well-known providers of digital payments in the rapidly evolving fintech sector. Both offer peer-to-peer payments, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) solutions and a cryptocurrency buy-sell platform. An expanding portfolio and rich partner base make both PayPal and Block well-positioned to address the growing needs of the global fintech market. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are bringing rapid changes in the fintech market with growing demand for digital wallets, tokenization and account-to-account transactions. So, PYPL or XYZ, which of these Fintech stocks has the greater upside potential? Let’s find out.The Case for PYPL StockPortfolio strength has been helping PayPal maintain deep and trusted relationships with merchants and consumers. Its two-sided platform helps develop direct financial relationships with customers and merchants. PYPL’s investments in improving branded checkout, person-to-person (P2P) and Venmo are helping in driving total active accounts. The company’s gradual evolution from a payments company to a commerce platform bodes well for investors.In first-quarter 2025, transaction margin dollars grew 7% year over year to $3.72 billion, driven by omnichannel commerce, both online branded checkout and offline branded payment methods, Venmo, and Payment Service Provider (PSP). Venmo revenues grew 20% and accounted for 18% of Total Payment Volume (TPV). PayPal expects transaction margin in dollar terms (ex-interest on customer balances) to grow between 4% and 5% in 2025.PayPal saw BNPL volume growth of more than 20% in the first quarter, and monthly active accounts grew 18% year-over-year. PYPL stated that BNPL users spend 33% more on average and conduct 17% more transactions. PayPal plans to increase consumer awareness of its BNPL solutions through campaigns in the United Kingdom and Germany, with continuing investments in Australia, France, Italy and Spain. The company’s omnichannel strategy has been a success in the United States, and PayPal plans to replicate that internationally. The company remains on track to launch NFC capabilities in Germany later this quarter and bring PayPal everywhere to the United Kingdom in the third quarter of 2025.PayPal’s expanding partner base, including Fiserv, Adyen, Amazon, Global Payments and Shopify, is also driving prospects.The Case for XYZ StockBlock’s comprehensive commerce ecosystem, which enables sellers to combine software, hardware and payment services to accept payments from customers, helps it sustain solid momentum across sellers. The company’s omnichannel offerings, which help sellers create differentiated customer experiences on the back of customer insights by managing orders from POS and eliminating manual aggregation of online and in-person orders, are adding strength to its seller base. Block is expanding its portfolio with the new Square POS app that integrates domain-specific commerce and payments functionality into a single, unified app that allows sellers to personalize their offerings. The latest Square Point of Sale app offers seven modes that are purpose-built for different industries.However, Block has been suffering from a shift in consumer spending. Cash App Card spending in the first quarter of 2025 suffered from lower discretionary spending in areas like travel and media. Challenging macroeconomic conditions don’t bode well for Block’s near-term prospects. Gross profit, which grew 9% year over year in the first quarter of 2025, is now expected to grow 9.5% in the second quarter and accelerate in the second half of 2025, with double-digit growth in third-quarter 2025 and mid-teens in fourth-quarter.Price Performance and Valuation of XYZ and PYPLYear to date, PayPal shares have dropped 16.2%, outperforming Block shares, which have lost 33%.XYZ and PYPL Stock’s Performance Image Source: Zacks Investment Research PayPal shares are trading cheap, as suggested by a Value Score of B, while Block shares are currently overvalued, as suggested by a Value Score of D.In terms of forward 12-month Price/Sales, Block shares are trading at 1.37X, lower than PayPal’s 2.07X.XYZ and PYPL Valuation Image Source: Zacks Investment Research PYPL’s Earnings Estimate Revision Positive, XYZ’s Goes SouthThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for PayPal’s 2025 earnings is pegged at $5.07 per share, which has increased by 1.2% over the past 30 days. This indicates a 9.03% increase year over year. PayPal Holdings, Inc. Price and Consensus PayPal Holdings, Inc. price-consensus-chart | PayPal Holdings, Inc. Quote The consensus mark for XYZ’s 2025 earnings is pegged at $2.72 per share, which dropped 30.4% over the past 30 days. This indicates a 19.29% decline year over year. Block, Inc. Price and Consensus Block, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Block, Inc. Quote PayPal earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters, while XYZ has missed twice. PYPL’s average surprise of 14.01% is better than XYZ’s negative surprise of 7.11%, reflecting PayPal’s good quality of earnings beat on a consistent basis.ConclusionAlthough Block’s rich partner base and expanding portfolio are noteworthy for investors, it suffers from challenging macroeconomic conditions in the near term. PayPal’s strong portfolio with growing Venmo, BNPL and PSP businesses offers better growth opportunities in the near term.Currently, PayPal has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), making the stock a stronger pick compared with Block, which has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL): Free Stock Analysis Report Block, Inc. (XYZ): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks