PayPal stock, vertical performance in 2020

PayPal has delivered a strong performance on the stock market in 2020. Listed on the Nasdaq, PYPL shares were worth around $100 on January 2nd, while today they are worth $243 (at the time of writing), marking a new all-time high.

PayPal only experienced a setback in connection with the stock market crash in March. Then it resumed its upward climb until today. 

What affected PayPal’s stock performance in 2020

It is worth saying that 2020 was certainly a strange year because of the pandemic. One might easily say that PayPal benefited from the Coronavirus and the boost that the pandemic gave to the digital payments industry. 

In reality, PayPal was on the rise well before the pandemic. Even 2019 had been a banner year, closing with revenue of $17.77 billion. This figure was higher than the $15.45 billion of 2018. 

2020 promises even more interesting results. For now, it is enough to stick to the results of the third quarter of this year, which show $5.46 billion in net revenues. 

Users have also increased significantly: 15.2 million new accounts for a total of 361 million active accounts. 

There is also important news for the company, which has certainly influenced investors’ choices. PayPal in fact announced:

• The opening to buying/selling and making payments with cryptocurrencies;
• The credit card for its affiliate Venmo;
• The “buy now, pay later” system in the US and UK.

2021 can be even better

PayPal is preparing for the new year with many expectations. For one, it may extend its cryptocurrency buying and selling service beyond the US where it is present now. Moreover, it is precisely in 2021 that it will also enable cryptocurrency payments for the 26 million merchants that accept PayPal as a payment system.

Beyond cryptocurrencies, the challenge PayPal will have to respond to will be the end of the pandemic. Covid-19, by causing the closure of physical shops, has resulted in an increase in online purchases and consequently digital payments. 

With the vaccine now circulating in the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, the concern is that the return to ‘normal’ life may dampen the use of PayPal. But is this risk really real? In reality, the revolution brought about by the pandemic in various sectors, including payments, is hardly reversible. In addition, there is a new generation that is advancing and becoming increasingly digitized. All these considerations suggest that PayPal’s upward performance is destined to continue.