Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed estimates. Paypal issued weak first-quarter sales guidance.
The San Jose-based payment facility reported revenue of $15.45 billion. GAAP revenue experienced growth of 18% on a spot basis and 17% on a FX-neutral basis. Full Year 2018 GAAP Earnings per Share was $1.71, increasing 16%; non-GAAP EPS of $2.42, increasing 28%
The completion of the sale of the U.S. consumer credit receivables portfolio to Synchrony in July 2018 negatively affected revenue growth by approximately three and a half percentage points.
The company trumpeted active accounts of 267 million, up 17% with growth of 38.7 million net new active accounts, and 9.9 billion payment transactions, up 27%.
According to CEO Dan Schulman, "In 2018 we set new benchmarks for the company for revenue, net new active accounts and engagement across our platform. We launched new products, strengthened existing relationships, and entered into new strategic partnerships with some of the biggest and most influential global brands in technology, retail, and finance."
PayPal expects revenue to grow 16 - 17% at current spot rates and 16 - 17% on an FX-neutral basis, to a range of $17.850 - $18.100 billion.
PayPal expects GAAP earnings per diluted share in the range of $1.83 - $1.93 and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share in the range of $2.84 - $2.91.
Shares ditched $3.35, or 3.6%, to $89.07
