PayPal stock fell more than 10% on Thursday after a disappointing outlook heightened uncertainty surrounding the payments giant. Although the company beat most fourth-quarter metrics on Wednesday, PayPal projected significantly lower-than-expected revenue. The company was also seeing a slowdown in its user base. PayPal is known for pioneering online checkout during the dot-com era. But the company faces stiff competition from new entrants like Apple Pay and has struggled to dominate e-commerce as online shopping moves to mobile phones. PYPL 1D Line PayPal’s Performance Throughout the Day Alex Criss, who took over as CEO last September, admitted that PayPal had overhired, lost focus and overreached during the pandemic. He called 2024 a transition year and told CNBC in a phone interview that the company will remain “conservative” in its guidance. Still, investors expect the recovery to take some time and are lowering their expectations while they wait. Average EPS estimates fell 5% after earnings, with less than half of analysts rating the stock a buy, according to FactSet. Just a year ago, two-thirds of analysts were bullish on PayPal. “While we appreciate the energy that PYPL’s new management will bring, those of us who have closely tracked the past two years see it as easy to right the huge ship that is PYPL,” Wells Fargo analyst Andrew said. It’s not surprising that it’s not a great feat.” Bauch said in a note to his clients. He CEO of “Show Me” stock PayPal faced criticism for over-promising before a January 25 product event. The company announced plans for a faster checkout experience powered by artificial intelligence, calling it the “next chapter” for PayPal. This was Chriss’ first big announcement after joining PayPal from Intuit. Prior to that, Chris told CNBC that PayPal plans to “shock the world.” The products that followed were widely seen as underwhelming. Gordon Haskett analyst Don Bilson told clients that the CEO didn’t shock the world and that “putting him to sleep is more like it.” “His honeymoon period officially ended yesterday due to a forced communication error,” Bilson said. “The gaffe that caused stock prices to plummet on Thursday is traceable.” [to] In this company presentation, Chris gave investors a glimpse of the most “impactful innovations” the company is piloting. …PYPL’s presentation didn’t feature any new product announcements or initiatives, so it didn’t shock anyone. , PayPal laid off 9% of its workforce in late January to “drive greater focus and efficiency.” Chris emphasized his conservative approach to leadership, telling CNBC that executives “want to see what the board is talking about” and “want to actually implement it.” During an hour-long call with analysts, Chris talked about gaining trust from the investor community. “As a company, we intend to return to our track record of delivering on our promises,” Chris said. Bank of America said PayPal will invest some of its recent cost cuts, describing 2024 as a “year of transition” and predicting that “the turnaround will take time.” The price target was lowered by $2 to $64, and the rating was set as Neutral. Deutsche Bank called PayPal a ‘show me the stock’, citing valuation and recent sentiment, and said: ‘The highlight of this call was PYPL’s vision to resolve many of the lingering issues currently facing the company. ” he said. We are closely monitoring developments,” said Brian Keene, an analyst at Deutsche Bank. “The good news is that the new CEO is handling the issues well, but questions remain about whether they can be fixed or whether the company is structurally impaired.” — CNBC’s Michael Bloom Contributed to this report.