If global lockdowns were a win for PayPal (PYPL:NASDAQ), reopening has been a catastrophe. Since peaking at near-$310 in July 2021, shares in the digital payments platform have sunk to levels not seen since 2017, a staggering fall from grace.

Underwhelming margins have been analysts’ chief worry in recent quarters, as lower margin services have held up better, while stumbling growth has hardly helped either.

PayPal chief executive Dan Schulman has drawn optimism from largely robust consumer spending, which should improve further as inflation continues to cool, something to watch out for in third quarter results (1 November).

Revenue projections for the three months have been nudging higher lately, from $7.32 billion to the current $7.38 billion, according to Koyfin data, and the $1.23 per share of earnings predicted would be a record quarterly profit, but the devil will be in the detail. There may also be news on Dan Schulman’s successor after his retirement announcement in February.

Having fallen this far, the stock has seldom been this lowly rated, offering hope for recovery. Koyfin’s December full year 2024 earnings per share projections for $5.56 implies a price to earnings multiple next year of 9.5, versus mid-teens growth.

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