• PayPal reported better-than-expected earnings in the first quarter but missed on revenue.
• Transaction margin dollars grew 8%, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of profitable growth under CEO Alex Chriss.
• PayPal reaffirmed its full-year guidance, citing persistent global macroeconomic uncertainty.

better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter, but the company missed on revenue and reaffirmed its guidance for 2025 due to macro uncertainty. The stock was little changed.

Here's how the company did compared with Wall Street estimates, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: $1.33, adjusted vs. $1.16 expected
• Revenue: $7.79 billion vs. $7.85 billion expected

While sales increased just 1% from $7.7 billion a year earlier, PayPal said the results reflect a strategy to prioritize profitability over volume, rolling off lower-margin revenue streams.

Transaction margin dollars, the company's key measure of profitability, grew 7% to $3.7 billion, marking the company's fifth consecutive quarter of profitable growth under CEO Alex Chriss.

Total payment volume, an indication of how digital payments are faring in the broader economy, missed estimates, coming in at $417.2 billion, versus the nearly $418 billion analysts projected.

The number of active accounts rose 2% from a year earlier to 436 million.

More than 45% of U.S. branded checkout is now running through PayPal's upgraded experience, Chriss said during the earnings call, and the company expects to see this accelerate even faster as it rolls out into Europe. He also highlighted strong debit card momentum, with nearly 2 million first-time PayPal and Venmo debit card users in the quarter — an increase of nearly 90% from last year.

, though the company didn't provide a dollar figure. Total payment volume for Venmo increased 10% to $75.9 billion. Pay with Venmo transaction volume climbed 50% in the quarter and Venmo debit card monthly active users increased by about 40%.

Chriss has focused on better monetizing key acquisitions like Braintree and Venmo. ,and Ticketmaster are among businesses  as one way that consumers can pay.

Ahead of PayPal's earnings report, some analysts had struck a cautious tone despite the company's focus on margin expansion. Morgan Stanley analysts warned in a note on Monday that investor sentiment remained bearish due to the potential impact of tariffs, competitive pressure from and , and the risk of a long-term slowdown in branded checkout growth.

Jefferies analysts highlighted PayPal's China cross-border exposure as an emerging risk tied to potential new tariffs and changes to the de minimis exemption.

On the company's earnings call, CFO Jamie Miller downplayed the risk, noting that less than 2% of PayPal's branded checkout total payment volume comes from Chinese merchants selling into the U.S., including both direct shipments and U.S.-based entities shipping from China.

"We are globally diversified. Our merchant base, our region base, it's just very, very global and diverse, and we're well positioned to capture shifts in spending as they happen," Miller said.

For the second quarter, PayPal issued better-than-expected guidance, forecasting adjusted earnings per share of $1.29 to $1.31, above the average analyst estimate of $1.21. Transaction margin dollars will increase 4% to 5% to between $3.75 billion and $3.8 billion, the company said.

However, for the full year, PayPal chose to reaffirm its guidance, citing "global macroeconomic uncertainty." The company expects earnings per share of $4.95 to $5.10 for the year and free cash flow in the range of $6 billion to $7 billion.

PayPal shares are down 24% this year, while the Nasdaq has dropped 10%.

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