Stripe, the privately held payments firm, is weighing whether to pursue a deal for PayPal either as a full takeover or by buying selected parts of the business, according to people familiar with the matter cited in a Bloomberg report. The thinking is described as an early stage, and there is no certainty it results in any transaction.
The report also made PayPal shares go up. Shares of PayPal rose about 7% on 24 February 2026, but this failed to put its market cap above $40 billion. By the close, one account valued PayPal at about $43.3 billion.
Why Stripe and why now
It is no exaggeration to say that the largest of online payment infrastructures has set up the processes to allow businesses to receive card payments, manage subscriptions, project payouts, and potentially improve accounting processes. While this was in its process, Stripe disclosed that an exercise offered it a $159 billion value, which is about superior to numerous different public companies financially.
However, PayPal stands as a legacy giant, the original creator of Internet payments, that has faced tough competitive forces in recent years. PayPal has been made to walk a tightrope, with competition posed by resistance from emerging payment platforms like Apple Pay and Google Pay or headwinds from larger economic consumer behavior.
In remarks reported this week, Stripe president John Collison referenced how hard the environment has become for PayPal and pointed to the shift in the market around Apple Pay and Google Pay, while also saying he could not speak to mergers and acquisitions hypotheticals.
PayPal’s strategic crossroads
The takeover chatter follows a turbulent period for PayPal’s leadership. Earlier in February, PayPal removed chief executive Alex Chriss after the board said the pace of transformation and execution had not met expectations, alongside a 2026 outlook that disappointed investors. The board appointed chair Enrique Lores as president and chief executive, with Lores due to start on 1 March.
A separate Bloomberg related report earlier in the week said PayPal had held meetings with banks after receiving unsolicited approaches, with at least one large rival looking at the whole company and other parties showing interest in specific PayPal assets. Those conversations were also described as preliminary.
Full takeover or asset purchases
A complete acquisition of PayPal by Stripe would be a landmark consolidation move in global payments. It would also be complex: a $40 billion plus public company would typically require a sizable premium, and Stripe would need to decide how to fund any bid, especially as it remains privately owned.
The alternative path, buying individual assets, has been part of wider market speculation. PayPal is often discussed as three major businesses: its legacy PayPal branded checkout operation, the Braintree unit focused on larger corporate merchants, and Venmo, the peer to peer payments brand with a younger skew.
From Stripe’s perspective, purchasing parts of PayPal could be more achievable than absorbing the entire company at once. It could also let Stripe target areas where PayPal has valuable consumer reach or merchant relationships, while avoiding business lines that overlap more directly with Stripe’s existing strengths.
What a Stripe and PayPal deal could mean for the market
If Stripe pursued PayPal outright, the combined footprint would span both ends of digital commerce: Stripe’s deep tooling for developers and merchants, and PayPal’s consumer facing products and brand recognition. That potential “two sided” reach is part of why investors react sharply to any credible sign of interest.
Even so, the reports stress the situation is fluid. Both Stripe and PayPal declined to comment on the Bloomberg report, and Reuters noted it could not independently verify the details.
For now, the most concrete fact is the change in tone around PayPal’s strategic options. With PayPal having opened talks with bankers amid inbound interest, and with Stripe’s name now explicitly linked to possible action, markets are treating PayPal as a more active restructuring and deal candidate than it has been in years.
Disclaimer
This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Always conduct your own research (DYOR).