PayPal

Online and mobile payments company.

PaymentsFintechDigital walletsPublic company

IPO^{Source [9]}^{Source [5]}Last verified Oct 2, 2026

About PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc. runs a two-sided payments network that connects consumers and merchants, with 439 million active accounts across about 200 markets as of December 31, 2025. Its brands include PayPal, Venmo, Braintree, Xoom, Hyperwallet, Honey and Paidy, covering digital wallets, person-to-person payments, merchant processing, international transfers and buy now, pay later credit.^{Source [5]}

The PayPal product launched in October 1999 as free, email-driven person-to-person payments. The company formed from the March 2000 merger of Confinity, which built the product, and X.com, and took the PayPal, Inc. name in February 2001. It went public in February 2002 and was bought by eBay that October in a stock deal valued at about $1.5 billion.^{Source [1]}^{Source [7]}^{Source [8]}

eBay spun PayPal off as an independent company in July 2015, and its shares began regular trading on Nasdaq under the symbol PYPL on July 20, 2015. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California, and had about 23,800 employees at the end of 2025.^{Source [9]}^{Source [6]}^{Source [5]}

In 2025 PayPal reported net revenues of $33.2 billion and processed $1.79 trillion in total payment volume. Enrique Lores, previously chair of PayPal's board, became President and CEO on March 1, 2026, succeeding Alex Chriss, and has outlined a plan built around three business units that consolidate platforms such as Braintree, Hyperwallet and PayPal Complete Payments.^{Source [5]}^{Source [10]}^{Source [11]}

What happened

PayPal, Inc. resulted from the March 2000 merger of Confinity (incorporated December 1998) and X.com (incorporated March 1999). It went public in early 2002 and eBay acquired it in October 2002 in a stock deal valued at about $1.5 billion. eBay spun it off as PayPal Holdings, Inc., an independent Nasdaq-listed company, on July 17, 2015.^{Source [1]}^{Source [7]}^{Source [8]}^{Source [9]}

Timeline

2026-03-01Enrique Lores became President and CEO.^{Source [10]}
2026-02-03Board named Lores CEO to succeed Alex Chriss and named David W. Dorman independent chair; Jamie Miller served as interim CEO.^{Source [10]}
2023-08A partner issuer launched the PayPal USD (PYUSD) stablecoin.^{Source [5]}
2021-10Completed the purchase of Paidy, a buy now, pay later platform in Japan.^{Source [12]}
2020-01Completed the purchase of Honey Science Corporation.^{Source [13]}
2015-11Completed the purchase of Xoom.^{Source [6]}
2015-07-20Began regular trading on Nasdaq as PYPL after eBay distributed PayPal shares on July 17.^{Source [6]}^{Source [9]}
2013-12Braintree was acquired for PayPal while PayPal was part of eBay.^{Source [6]}
2002-10-03eBay completed its acquisition of PayPal; Peter Thiel resigned as CEO.^{Source [8]}
2002-02Completed its initial public offering at $13.00 per share.^{Source [7]}
2001-02X.com formally changed its name to PayPal, Inc.^{Source [1]}
2000-03-30X.com and Confinity merged.^{Source [1]}
1999-10Launched the PayPal product with free email-driven person-to-person payments.^{Source [1]}

Products and brands

PayPal: Digital wallet for online and in-person checkout, transfers and account balances.^{Source [5]}
Venmo: U.S. mobile wallet used mainly to send money between friends and family.^{Source [5]}
Braintree: Payment processing for merchants and platforms.^{Source [5]}
Xoom: International money transfers to bank accounts, mobile wallets and cash pick-up points.^{Source [5]}
PayPal Credit and buy now, pay later: Consumer credit and installment products, including Paidy in Japan.^{Source [5]}^{Source [12]}
Hyperwallet: Payout services for marketplaces and platforms.^{Source [5]}^{Source [13]}
Honey: Shopping and deals tool.^{Source [5]}^{Source [13]}
PayPal USD (PYUSD): U.S. dollar stablecoin issued by a third-party partner and available to PayPal and Venmo customers.^{Source [5]}

How it makes money: Earns most revenue from fees for completing payment transactions, typically based on the volume processed, plus fees for currency conversion, cross-border payments, instant transfers and crypto trades, and interest and fees from credit products and from assets underlying customer balances.^{Source [5]}

Leadership

Enrique Lores	President and CEO^{Source [10]}^{Source [11]}	Since 2026
David W. Dorman	Independent Board Chair^{Source [10]}	Since 2026
Jamie Miller	Executive Vice President, Chief Financial and Operating Officer^{Source [5]}^{Source [10]}

Funding and financials

Net revenues: $33.2 billion (2025)^{Source [5]}
Net income: $5.2 billion (2025)^{Source [5]}
Total payment volume: $1.79 trillion (2025)^{Source [5]}
Active accounts: 439 million (December 31, 2025)^{Source [5]}
Market value held by non-affiliates: About $71.3 billion (June 30, 2025)^{Source [5]}

Date	Round	Amount	Investors
2002-02	IPO^{Source [7]}	About $69.9 million net (6,210,000 shares at $13.00)

Notable acquisitions

Paidy^{Source [12]}	2021	About $2.7 billion
Honey Science Corporation^{Source [13]}	2020	About $4.0 billion
iZettle^{Source [13]}	2018	$2.2 billion
Hyperwallet^{Source [13]}	2018	About $400 million
Xoom^{Source [6]}	2015	$1.1 billion
Braintree^{Source [6]}	2013	About $713 million

People on Founded, and where they went next

3 people on record, connected to 22 other companies.

Person	Here	Also built
Elon Musk	Co-founder, CEO2000	xAI2023 to 2026AcquiredX Corp.2022 to 2025AcquiredThe Boring Company2017ActiveNeuralink2016ActiveOpenAI2015 to 2018ActiveSolarCity2006 to 2016AcquiredTesla2004 to nowIPOSpaceX2002 to nowIPOX.com1999MergedZip21995 to 1999Acquired
Peter Thiel	Chief Executive Officer and President, Chairman of the board2000 to 2002	Mithril Capital Management2012ActiveFounders Fund2005 to nowActiveMeta2005 to 2022IPOPalantir Technologies2003 to nowIPOClarium Capital Management2002Status unknownConfinity1998 to 2000Merged
Reid Hoffman	Executive Vice President2000 to 2002	Manas AI2025ActiveInflection AI2022ActiveMicrosoft2017 to nowIPOGreylock2009 to nowActiveLinkedIn2002 to 2016AcquiredConfinity1998 to 2000MergedSocialNet.com1997 to 2000Status unknown

Sources

PayPal, Inc. Registration Statement (Form S-1/A), SEC EDGAR, 2002-02-14. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Max Levchin: The Making of a Tech Mogul, Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Gigafund team (Luke Nosek bio), Gigafund. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Statement of Kenneth A. Howery, U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 2025-05-08. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
PayPal Holdings, Inc. Annual Report (Form 10-K) for fiscal year 2025, SEC EDGAR, 2026-02-03. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
PayPal Holdings, Inc. Annual Report (Form 10-K) for fiscal year 2015, SEC EDGAR, 2016-02-11. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
PayPal, Inc. Quarterly Report (Form 10-Q) for the quarter ended March 31, 2002, SEC EDGAR, 2002-05-15. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
eBay Completes PayPal Acquisition (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1), SEC EDGAR (eBay Inc.), 2002-10-03. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
PayPal Holdings, Inc. Form 8-K: separation from eBay, SEC EDGAR, 2015-07-20. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
PayPal Appoints Enrique Lores as Chief Executive Officer and David W. Dorman as Independent Board Chair, PayPal Newsroom, 2026-02-03. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
PayPal keeping options open amid buyout rumors, CEO says, Yahoo Finance, 2026-09-10. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
PayPal Holdings, Inc. Annual Report (Form 10-K) for fiscal year 2021, SEC EDGAR, 2022-02-03. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
PayPal Holdings, Inc. Annual Report (Form 10-K) for fiscal year 2020, SEC EDGAR, 2021-02-05. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.

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