Earnings preview: Customer base to drive PayPal Q4 results

PayPal Holdings (PYPL) is set to report its earnings for the fourth quarter on Wednesday after the market closes. The technology platform and digital payments company’s results will be driven by the expansion of its customer base as it counts on its well-performing Venmo, Choice and One Touch. Smartphone penetration and internet usage could drive mobile payment volume higher.

Analysts expect PayPal to post earnings of $0.67 per share on revenue of $4.24 billion for the fourth quarter. In comparison, during the previous year quarter, the company reported a profit of $0.55 per share on revenue of $3.74 billion. Majority of the analysts recommended a “strong buy” or “buy” rating while expecting the stock to reach $99.77 in the next 52 weeks.

The results will be benefited by the expansion of its customer base that will improve total active accounts. The basis of PayPal’s business depends on the active customer accounts and total payment volume. In the past several quarters, these two metrics have aided in massive growth for the company.

Related: PayPal Q3 2018 Earnings Results

For expanding the customer base, the company will bank on its well-performing Venmo, Choice and One Touch. The company will depend on the rising number of strategic acquisitions and will cash on with its presence in the global market and strategic partnerships.

PayPal’s payment services, which has been adopted across the globe, will be driven by strengthening merchant base and rapidly rising mobile payment volume with the increase of smartphone penetration and internet usage.

In the third quarter, PayPal posted a 15% jump in earnings helped by higher revenue as well as management of costs and expenses. Active accounts at the end of the quarter jumped 15% to 254 million. Payment transactions also surged 15% to 2.5 billion. Total payment volume increased 24% to $143 billion.

Mobile payment volume jumped by 45% helped by the strong mobile engagement on PayPal’s platform. Venmo, the company’s social payments platform, processed about $17 billion of total payment volume in the third quarter, growing 78%.

For the fourth quarter, the company had expected revenue growth of 13% to 15% to $4.195 billion to $4.275 billion and earnings in the range of $0.43 to $0.47 per share. Adjusted earnings were anticipated to be $0.65 to $0.67 per share.

Shares of PayPal opened lower on Monday and is trading in the red territory. The stock has risen over 7% in the past year and over 10% in the past three months.

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