PayPal Lowers Annual Sales Forecast, Citing Product Delays

(Bloomberg) -- Investors expressed disappointment with PayPal Holdings Inc.’s revenue outlook Wednesday, sending shares tumbling in after-hours trading.

PayPal lowered its forecast for the year, projecting revenue growth of 14% to 15%. The previous range was a percentage point higher. Sales will be as much as $17.8 billion, falling short of analyst estimates of $17.92 billion for the year. The company attributed the change to product delays, pricing changes and currency pressures.

“This is only a matter of delayed revenues,” Dan Schulman, the chief executive officer, said in a phone interview after the report. “Those revenues are a certainty and are coming.”

The San Jose, California-based company expects adjusted earnings per share in the third quarter to be 69 cents to 71 cents, in line with analyst estimates of 70 cents.

The stock is up more than 40% this year. It reached an all-time high last week. After the financial report Wednesday, the stock fell as much as 7% in extended trading.

The quarterly report was the first since PayPal announced the departure last month of Bill Ready, the chief operating officer and a key executive overseeing the company’s fastest-growing product, Venmo. The payments app -- and the challenge of eventually generating a profit from it -- has been a main focus of Wall Street over the past couple years.

In the second quarter, adjusted earnings per share rose 47% to 86 cents. Analysts’ estimates were 75 cents. Revenue increased 12% to $4.31 billion, compared with estimates of $4.32 billion.

Payment volume grew 24% in the second quarter to $172.4 billion, beating estimates. However, the growth rate was down from 29% in the same quarter last year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Julie Verhage in New York at jverhage2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Mark Milian at mmilian@bloomberg.net, Alistair Barr, Anne VanderMey

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