LIVE
V
Visa Inc. · Financials
$327.24
-0.81% this month
VERSUS
⟷
COMPARE
PYPL
PayPal Holdings, Inc. · Financials
$42.51
-3.01% this month
Scoreboard verdict
Across AI score, momentum, valuation, upside, operating margin
V
4
PYPL
1
Comparison scoreboard
V LEADS 4/5AI Score
V ✓49.8
PYPL 39.2
1Y Return
V ✓-8.55%
PYPL -39.85%
Fwd P/E
V 22.02
PYPL ✓7.38
Target Up.
V ✓+21.88%
PYPL +21.25%
Op. Margin
V ✓67.35%
PYPL 17.97%
Metrics last refreshed: 6/22/2026
Quick take
V vs PYPL Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Visa and PayPal are both digital payments companies but operate at different layers of the payments stack. Visa is the underlying network infrastructure — the rails that payment transactions travel on. PayPal is an application layer on top of card networks — a digital wallet and checkout platform. Visa's network effect moat is among the strongest in any industry; PayPal's consumer trust and account base are valuable but more susceptible to competition from Apple Pay and Shop Pay.
V vs PYPL is the world's dominant payment network infrastructure with near-unassailable two-sided network effects (Visa) versus a digital payments application layer with 430M accounts increasingly competing against Apple Pay and Shop Pay (PayPal) — Visa's network moat is substantially stronger and more durable than PayPal's platform moat.
Live analysis · updated 6/22/2026
V holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. V has delivered stronger 1-year price return (-8.55% vs -39.85%), though PYPL trades at the lower forward P/E (7.38x vs 22.02x). V leads on both revenue growth (17.10%) and operating margin (67.35%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies similar upside for both: +21.88% for V and +21.25% for PYPL.
Normalized 1Y performance
V
PYPL
Recent returns
V
PYPL
Analyst price targets & sentiment
V · 40 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Buy (1.7/5.0)
Price target range
analyst low$289.00
analyst high$425.00
analyst mean$398.83
current price$327.24
+21.9% upside to analyst mean
PYPL · 38 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Buy (2.3/5.0)
Price target range
analyst low$49.00
analyst high$120.00
analyst mean$51.54
current price$42.51
+21.2% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
V may suit investors who:
- →prefer the world's most durable payment network with two-sided moat effects making Visa nearly impossible to displace from either merchant or cardholder side
- →value Visa's asset-light model — no credit risk, no balance sheet exposure, pure fee income on transaction volume with capital returned to shareholders
- →want cash-to-digital payment transition exposure globally as developing markets convert from cash to card payments over the next decade
- →are comfortable with interchange fee regulatory risk, CBDC long-term disruption potential, and growth rates reflecting the maturity of a near-monopoly network
PYPL may suit investors who:
- →prefer digital wallet and checkout platform exposure with Venmo peer-to-peer network and PayPal's 430M active account consumer franchise
- →value PayPal's potential for per-account revenue monetization improvement as Venmo debit, BNPL, and PayPal credit products grow within its active user base
- →want a potentially undervalued digital payments stock — PayPal has been re-rated down significantly from pandemic peaks, creating value if the company successfully defends checkout share
- →are comfortable with Apple Pay/Shop Pay checkout displacement, stagnant active account growth, and PayPal's structural disadvantage paying interchange fees to the networks it competes on top of
Performance & AI score
| Metric | V | PYPL |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 49.8 | 39.2 |
| AI rank | #483 | #1180 |
| Latest close | $327.24 | $42.51 |
| 1M return | -0.81% | -3.01% |
| 6M return | -4.99% | -29.36% |
| 1Y return | -8.55% | -39.85% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | V | PYPL |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $9.61K (-3.9%) started 2025-06-18 | $6.2K (-38.0%) started 2025-06-18 |
| 5Y ago | $14.82K (+48.2%) started 2021-06-21 | $1.5K (-85.0%) started 2021-06-21 |
| 10Y ago | $48.05K (+380.5%) started 2016-06-20 | $11.53K (+15.3%) started 2016-06-20 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | V | PYPL |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $622.33B | $37.5B |
| Trailing P/E | 28.48 | 7.98 |
| Forward P/E | 22.02 | 7.38 |
| Price/Sales | 18.85 | 2.24 |
| EV/Revenue | 14.58 | 1.18 |
| Analyst target | $398.83 | $51.54 |
| Target upside | +21.88% | +21.25% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | V | PYPL |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 17.10% | 7.20% |
| Earnings growth | 35.50% | -6.20% |
| EPS growth | +35.50% | -6.20% |
| FCF margin | +48.43% | +12.10% |
| Operating margin | 67.35% | 17.97% |
| Profit margin | 51.68% | 15.00% |
| ROIC proxy | 60.35% | 25.12% |
| Return on equity | 60.35% | 25.12% |
| Dividend yield | 0.82% | 1.32% |
| Beta | 0.77 | 1.34 |
| Debt/equity | 67.23 | 58.28 |
| Current ratio | 1.09 | 1.26 |
| Quick ratio | 0.67 | 0.22 |
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
V max drawdown17.65%
PYPL max drawdown50.04%
V max wkly drop8.30%
PYPL max wkly drop24.88%
5Y risk snapshot
V max drawdown28.60%
PYPL max drawdown87.33%
V max wkly drop11.76%
PYPL max wkly drop31.59%
10Y risk snapshot
V max drawdown36.36%
PYPL max drawdown87.33%
V max wkly drop16.49%
PYPL max wkly drop31.59%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | V | PYPL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -3.86% | -38.00% |
| CAGR | -3.87% | -38.05% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.29 | -1.14 | |
| Max drawdown | 17.65% | 50.04% | |
| Max daily drop | 4.50% | 20.31% | |
| Max wkly drop | 8.30% | 24.88% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +43.84% | -84.98% |
| CAGR | +7.55% | -31.60% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.24 | -0.80 | |
| Max drawdown | 28.60% | 87.33% | |
| Max daily drop | 7.74% | 24.59% | |
| Max wkly drop | 11.76% | 31.59% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +350.45% | +15.33% |
| CAGR | +16.25% | +1.44% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.56 | 0.12 | |
| Max drawdown | 36.36% | 87.33% | |
| Max daily drop | 13.55% | 24.59% | |
| Max wkly drop | 16.49% | 31.59% |
Business comparison
| Category | V | PYPL |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Visa Inc. | PayPal Holdings, Inc. |
| Sector | Financial Services | Financial Services |
| Industry | Credit Services | Credit Services |
| Core business | Visa operates the world's largest payment network, connecting 15,000+ financial institutions, 4.3B cardholders, and 100M+ merchant locations globally. Visa doesn't extend credit — it processes transactions between banks and merchants, earning fees on each transaction. Visa's network effect moat is exceptional: merchants accept Visa because cardholders have Visa cards; cardholders choose Visa because merchants accept it everywhere. Cross-border transaction fees are Visa's highest-margin revenue, recovering strongly post-pandemic as international travel and commerce normalized. | PayPal is the world's largest digital payments company, operating PayPal (consumer and merchant payments), Venmo (peer-to-peer US payments), Braintree (enterprise merchant payment processing), and BNPL (buy now pay later through Pay Later). PayPal runs on top of card networks like Visa and Mastercard — it's a payment application layer that uses underlying card infrastructure. PayPal's 430M+ active accounts create a recognized trusted brand for online checkout. |
| Investor focus | Investors track payment volume growth, cross-border payment volume (highest margin), value-added services revenue (fraud protection, data analytics, risk management), and the pace of cash-to-card conversion in developing markets. | Investors track total payment volume (TPV), active account growth vs monetization per account, Venmo monetization progress, and PayPal's ability to defend its checkout share against Apple Pay, Shop Pay, and merchant-direct checkout improvements. |
V strengths
- →Two-sided network effect moat — both merchant acceptance and cardholder base are so large that neither side has an incentive to switch, making Visa's network near-impossible to displace
- →Asset-light business model: Visa doesn't hold credit risk (banks issue the cards) and generates high-margin fee income on payment volume — returning most cash flow to shareholders
- →Cross-border payment volume recovery provides above-average fee revenue as international travel normalizes and e-commerce cross-border transactions grow
PYPL strengths
- →430M+ active accounts and widespread checkout button adoption create consumer trust — PayPal's checkout button is still the preferred method for many online shoppers
- →Venmo's 90M+ users represent a high-engagement payments network with growing monetization through Venmo debit card, Venmo business profiles, and PayPal's Pay with Venmo checkout
- →Braintree enterprise payment processing serves large merchants including Airbnb, eBay, and Uber — enterprise processing provides volume scale beyond consumer PayPal
Risks to watch — V
- →Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could create government-operated payment rails that bypass Visa's network entirely — this is a long-term structural risk
- →Regulatory pressure on interchange fees in the US, EU, and Australia could compress per-transaction economics
- →PayPal, Apple Pay, and real-time payment rails (FedNow in US, UPI in India) route transactions differently — some bypass traditional card network fees
Risks to watch — PYPL
- →Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Shop Pay are displacing PayPal at mobile checkout — PayPal's checkout share has been declining as smartphone biometric payments become the default
- →PayPal's active account growth has stagnated post-pandemic — the company now focuses on revenue per account over account count growth, but monetization improvement is gradual
- →PayPal sits on top of Visa/Mastercard rails and pays interchange fees — this limits PayPal's margin vs Visa's asset-light pure network model
Frequently asked questions
Free public comparison
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.
Related comparisons
More comparisons
Browse all 1,000 comparisons →