PayPal Announces CEO Dan Schulman to Step Down at End of Year After Shares Plunge

PayPal Announces CEO Dan Schulman to Step Down at End of Year After Shares Plunge
The PayPal app logo seen on a mobile phone in this illustration photo on Oct. 16, 2017. Thomas White/Illustration/Reuters
Katabella Roberts
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PayPal CEO Dan Schulman will leave the company at the end of the year to “devote more time to my passions outside the workplace” following a turbulent year for the online payments technology firm, which saw the price of its shares plunge more than 60 percent.
In a statement on Feb. 9, the online payments company said that Schulman has informed the board of directors of his intention to retire on Dec. 31, 2023, but that the CEO will continue to work with the board on a “smooth leadership transition” and will continue to serve on the board after stepping down.

PayPal is hiring a search firm to help find a successor.

“I’m proud of what we have accomplished at PayPal and of the incredibly talented and committed people I work with every day,” said Schulman in a statement. “Together, we have reimagined financial services and e-commerce and worked to improve the financial health of our customers. PayPal makes a difference every day for its customers and communities, and the company is positioned for a great future.”

Schulman joined PayPal in 2014 after it announced that it would separate from eBay. Prior to that, he held various leadership roles at American Express, Sprint Nextel Corporation, Priceline Group, and AT&T.

Quarterly, Yearly Financial Results

Under his leadership, revenues at PayPal nearly tripled, from $9.2 billion in 2015 to $27.5 billion in 2022, according to the company, while total active accounts more than doubled, to over 430 million in 200 markets, and payment volumes quintupled.

“It has been a huge privilege to have the opportunity to lead this great company for the past eight and a half years. However, I’m at a point in my life where I want to devote more time to my passions outside the workplace. I remain 100 percent committed to working closely with the board and my eventual successor for a smooth transition and to ensure we keep our positive momentum on track,” Schulman said.

PayPal on Thursday also shared its fourth-quarter and full-year 2022 results for the period ended Dec. 31, 2022, showing a mixed bag of results amid a volatile economic environment that has hurt consumers.

For the quarter that ended Dec. 31, 2022, the company reported net revenues of $7.4 billion, up 7 percent on an annual basis, but missed analysts’ estimates of $7.39 billion.

Profits in the fourth quarter of 2022 also increased to $921 million compared to $801 million in the same period in 2021, or $1.24 per share on an adjusted basis, beating analyst estimates of $1.20 per share.

For the full year, PayPal reported net revenues of $27.5 billion and a profit of $2.42 billion, or $2.09 per share, compared to $3.52 in 2021.

For the current quarter ending in March, PayPal expects its per-share earnings to range from $1.08 to $1.10 and anticipates full-year earnings to be $4.87 per share, beating analysts’ expectations of $4.75 per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

PayPal Slashing Workforce

The company, however, stopped short of providing a 2023 revenue outlook. Shares of PayPal were down 1.63 percent during after-hours trading after the announcements.
The latest announcement and financial report come after PayPal in January said it would lay off 7 percent of its workforce—around 2,000 employees—amid an economic slowdown that has impacted a number of tech giants.

In August, PayPal said that Elliott Management, the hedge fund activist investor group which often pursues various deals in order to boost shareholder value, took a stake of more than $2 billion in the fintech company, sending its stock price soaring.

In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Schulman said that PayPal had not experienced any pressure from Elliott Management, and pointed to his close relationship with its managing partner, Jesse Cohn.

“Jesse and I are good friends. He’s been incredibly supportive, and I’m sure this announcement comes as a real surprise and shock because he’s been so supportive,” Schulman said, although he added that the two “really haven’t spoken much this past quarter.”

The CEO added that PayPal’s board of directors “just wants to find the very best candidate” to fill his role when he steps down and will “look across the company and externally.”

Reuters contributed to this report.
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