What happened
Shares of PayPal Holdings (PYPL 1.96%) jumped 11.94% last month, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, with the bulk of the gains coming after the company's first-quarter report on April 26 showed strong user growth and increased transactions on its platform during the period.
Image source: PayPal Holdings.
So what
PayPal began 2017 strong, with revenue increasing 19% year over year to $2.98 billion and earnings per share up by the same percentage to $0.44. Investors were pleased with both of those numbers, and happy to see that total payment volume increased by 25% year over year as well.
But it was the jump in user growth that likely led investors to push PayPal's stock price upward. The company added 6 million active accounts in the quarter, an 11% year-over-year increase, and now has a total of 203 million accounts.
And all of those customers are engaging more often with PayPal's platform. The company said it now receives 32 payment transactions per active customer, an increase of 12% year over year.
Now what
PayPal is forecasting a strong year, saying it expects revenue to grow by 17% to 19% on a constant-currency basis, and predicting GAAP EPS of between $1.28 and $1.33 for 2017.
In the second quarter, the company expects GAAP earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.30 to $0.32, and revenue growth of 17% to 19%. It also expects its new partnerships, which include Google and Wells Fargo, to help the company continue growing. "We are deepening our merchant offerings and relationships, and expanding our network of strategic partnerships to make PayPal more available in new contexts and new markets," CEO Dan Schulman said in a press release.
