The PayPal-Stripe-Advent deal that appeared dead in July is very much alive again, with people familiar with the matter telling the Wall Street Journal that an agreement could materialise within weeks. PayPal declined to comment. A Stripe spokesperson said the company does not ‘comment on rumors or speculation.’
The original approach, reported by the WSJ in July, saw Quartz and other outlets detail its terms: Stripe and private equity firm Advent International offered $60.50 a share, a 28% premium over PayPal’s closing price at the time, in a transaction that would have valued the company at $53 billion. The bid was backed by roughly $50 billion in committed bank financing, with Stripe and Advent each taking a 50% stake and no plans to break up the business. PayPal walked away. Negotiations, it now appears, continued regardless.
A New CEO, a Slimmer Company
The backdrop to these talks is a company in the middle of a difficult reinvention. Enrique Lores, who had served on the PayPal board for nearly five years and as board chair since July 2024, was appointed President and CEO effective 1 March 2026, succeeding Alex Chriss. Jamie Miller served as interim CEO in the transition period; David W. Dorman joined as Independent Board Chair.
Lores came from HP, where he had spent years before moving onto PayPal’s board. His arrival as chief executive was swift. By 29 April, the company had announced a strategic reorganisation splitting the business into three operating units: ‘Checkout Solutions and PayPal,’ ‘Consumer Financial Services and Venmo,’ and ‘Payment Services and Crypto.’ An executive reshuffle accompanied the restructuring.
A month later, Lores told investors PayPal would ‘recommit to the fundamentals,’ including ‘becoming a technology company again.’ The language was pointed: PayPal, founded in 1998 by a cohort that included Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and Max Levchin, had ballooned during the pandemic e-commerce boom and then struggled to hold its footing as conditions normalised.
The cost structure is also being overhauled. The company plans to cut its workforce by 20% over the next two to three years, a reduction that The HR Digest, citing Bloomberg and a company statement, estimates will affect approximately 4,760 roles out of roughly 23,800 employees at year-end. The cuts are expected to generate at least $1.5 billion in gross run-rate savings over the same period.
The PayPal-Stripe-Advent Deal Structure and What the Numbers Say
For Stripe, the strategic rationale of a PayPal-Stripe-Advent deal is plain enough. Stripe was privately valued at $159 billion following a February 2026 employee tender offer, according to Quartz, making it one of the most valuable private companies in the world. Adding PayPal’s merchant relationships, Venmo’s consumer base, and its crypto infrastructure would extend Stripe’s reach into every corner of payments in a single transaction.
PayPal’s latest financials give both sides a clear benchmark for negotiation. In Q2 2026, the company reported GAAP net revenues of $8.7 billion, up 5% year over year, and total payment volume of $486.4 billion, up 10%, according to a summary of its SEC filings compiled by StockTitan. Active accounts reached 439 million, though growth there was fractional, up just 0.3%. GAAP diluted earnings per share came in at $1.25, down 3% from a year earlier.
Those figures tell a two-sided story. Payment volume and revenue are growing at a solid clip. But earnings are slipping even as the restructuring accelerates, which gives acquirers a credible argument that the current share price does not yet reflect a fully executed turnaround, and gives PayPal’s board a reason to hold out for more than $60.50.
Whether Lores prefers to complete that turnaround independently or accept a premium exit is the question now being answered in private. The coming weeks will determine whether a deal materialises at the original price, at a higher figure, or not at all, and whether Stripe ends up owning the very infrastructure it has spent a decade building around.
