According to The Wall Street Journal, Lores wants to fix parts of PayPal’s business that have struggled for years, launch new features and cut billions in costs. He’s doing this in a payments market that keeps shifting, one where PayPal has often moved first but hasn’t cashed in on its own ideas, the Journal reported.
A key piece of his plan is Venmo, which he wants to turn from a low-profit app into a full money-management tool with budgeting and investing built in. He also wants a more rewarding, easier-to-use checkout button, since that business has slowed as Apple Pay and Google Wallet took over much of the digital wallet market.
Lores made his case in public for the first time this week.
“What we have done is to first look at the strategy that we have, have confidence in the strategy that we have, and use this as a benchmark to compare any other alternatives,” he said, the Journal reported.
Rival Stripe and private equity firm Advent International had offered about $60.50 a share for PayPal this summer, and the stock jumped on the news. The two sides couldn’t agree on price, though, and shares have since slid back to around $53 from a high above $62.
Lores, a longtime HP executive who became CEO in February, could earn a $25 million bonus if the stock averages above $68 for 60 days, and more than $60 million if it hits $125.
His turnaround also leans on Venmo’s crypto trading and PYUSD stablecoin, and on catching up to rivals like Cash App, Robinhood and Chime, all of which have added banking features. Some analysts remain skeptical, with one comparing PayPal’s stock to a melting ice cube.
PYMNTS has followed this story closely, reporting when Stripe and Advent first made their $53 billion play for PayPal, when PayPal’s board called that bid inadequate, and when Advent and Stripe walked away from the deal. PYMNTS also covered Venmo’s app overhaul, part of PayPal’s push to make Venmo what one executive called the “go-to money movement app.”
