Stripe is considering acquiring all or part of PayPal, according to a new report from Bloomberg, adding fresh impetus to speculation about a takeover of the troubled payments giant.
The discussions are described as preliminary and there is no certainty that a transaction will go through.
The report comes hours after Stripe released its annual letter, announcing that it had reached a valuation of $159 billion in a recent employee takeover bid. The company also disclosed a total payments volume of $1.9 trillion for 2025 and highlighted accelerating growth in enterprise customers, stablecoin activity and AI-based business tools.
Earlier this week, Bloomberg separately reported that PayPal was attracting takeover interest following a prolonged slump in shares and slowing payments growth. PayPal stock jumped nearly 12% on Monday before calming down, then rose again after Stripe’s interest was announced, ending Tuesday up almost 7%.
Founded in the late 1990s, PayPal was an early player in digital payments but struggled to modernize its technology stack as competitors such as Apple and Alphabet expanded their payment offerings. The company’s latest quarterly results fell short of analysts’ expectations, with earnings and revenue falling short and payment volume growth continuing to slow.
Stripe, founded by Patrick and John Collison, has positioned itself as one of the most valuable private fintech companies in the world. In a recent interview, Stripe President John Collison acknowledged PayPal’s challenges but declined to comment on potential acquisition scenarios, saying he could not discuss merger and acquisition hypotheticals.
PayPal is also undergoing management changes. Enrique Lores is set to become chairman and CEO on March 1, replacing Alex Chriss, who was removed from the role this month.
