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PayPal is a technology platform that dominates the digital payment marketplace.
Headquartered in California in the United States, the company’s core business is an online payment service that allows individuals and businesses to transfer funds electronically.
The service enables users to send or receive payment for online auctions, buy or sell goods and services, make or receive donations, and also allows them to exchange cash with a counterparty.
PayPal says (June 2022) it administers 426 million active consumer and merchant accounts, processes around 40,000 payment transactions a minute, and that total payment volumes in the past year amounted to around £1 trillion.
For owners of PayPal shares, the last couple of years have been nothing short of a brutal experience. The share price is down over 60% since the start of 2022, currently trading around £51 ($64), even though the company continues to sustain robust growth, enjoys an exceptional balance sheet, and has a 50% share of the global payment processing software industry.
PayPal 5-Year Share Price Performance
Despite the company’s share price bumping along at close to all-time low levels, some analysts believe the underlying fundamentals surrounding this giant of the fintech space make it a definite recovery play.
Here’s what you need to know about buying – and selling – PayPal shares.
Why own stocks?
It’s worth asking yourself why you want to buy shares. Are you looking for capital growth, income from dividends or a combination of both? Your investment objectives will determine what type of shares you invest in, whether high-growth technology shares or more defensive companies with a reliable dividend stream.
Most investors look for sound fundamentals, including a track record of consistent earnings growth, a strong market position or products and services with future growth potential. These should provide a solid platform for future share price growth.
That said, other factors such as takeover rumours can drive up a company’s share price. Investors may also be attracted by recovery plays, with a depressed share price providing the potential for a rebound.
How to buy stock
Once you’ve decided which company to invest in, there are several steps to buying shares.
1) Open an account
Whether you’re a seasoned trader or new to stock market-based investments, you’ll need to open an account with a regulated brokerage to buy shares in PayPal.
Stockbroking is a competitive market place and services for DIY investors come in a range of guises – from online investing platforms run by some of the biggest names in financial services, to investment trading apps that work off your smartphone or tablet.
Before opening an account, bear in mind the following:
- Keep your ultimate financial goals in mind
- Be prepared to ride out stock market ups and downs
- Aim to keep trading costs to a minimum
- Remember that share investing can prompt tax charges, for example, when selling part of your portfolio, unless you use a tax-efficient wrapper such as an Individual Savings Account (ISA).
Before buying any shares, it’s worth asking yourself these questions:
- Should I take financial advice?
- Am I comfortable with the level of risk in question?
- What’s my investing budget?
- Can I afford to lose money?
- Do I understand the company in which I’m looking to invest?
- Am I protected if my platform provider/adviser goes out of business?
2) Where is PayPal traded?
The ticker symbol for PayPal is PYPL. It’s listed on the NASDAQ which is open for trading from 9.30am till 4pm (ET). You should be able to buy PayPal through the vast majority, if not all, brokerage accounts.
Buying shares in US dollars incurs a foreign exchange fee (typically around 1%) unless you fund the purchase from a US dollar account.
Most brokerages also charge a slightly higher transaction fee for buying US, rather than UK, shares although it’s worth comparing the fees charged by different brokers if you plan to trade US shares regularly.
You will be required to complete a W-8BEN form (valid for three years) which allows you to benefit from a reduction in withholding tax for qualifying US dividends and interest from 30% to 15%.
Holding US shares also carries exposure to foreign exchange risk. If the pound strengthens against the dollar, your shares will be worth less in sterling (and vice versa).
As with UK shares, any profit on US shares will be subject to Capital Gains Tax, unless they are held in an Individual Savings Account (ISA) or self-invested personal pension.
Investments in a currency other than sterling are exposed to currency exchange risk. Currency exchange rates are constantly changing which may affect the value of the investment in sterling terms. You could lose money in sterling even if the stock price rises in the currency of origin. Stocks listed on overseas exchanges may be subject to additional dealing and exchange rate charges, and may have other tax implications, and may not provide the same, or any, regulatory protection as in the UK.
3) Do your research
To find out more about PayPal, visit the company’s online investor relations page.
It’s also worth comparing PayPal’s valuation to other comparable technology companies. One way of doing this is to look at their relative price-earnings ratios (or P/Es) – shares trading on a high P/E have high expectations of substantial future growth.
Another useful research tool is brokers’ 12-month share price forecasts which can be found on financial websites.
4) What’s your investing strategy?
People tend to invest in one of two ways: either with a lump sum purchase, or via smaller, steadier amounts over time.
The latter method benefits from a process known as ‘pound cost averaging’, a stock market technique which helps you pay less per share on average over time in falling stock markets. Rather than waiting to build up a lump sum, it also means an investor’s money can be put to use in the market straightaway.
Note that drip-feeding an investment may sacrifice capital growth if the share price is rising and you will also pay more in share-trading fees.
5) Place an order
Once you’re ready to buy PayPal shares, log in to your investing account or trading app. Type in the PYPL ticker along with the number of shares you want to buy or the amount of money you’re looking to invest.
Many brokers allow you to add a ‘stop loss’ once you have bought the shares, which allows you to limit your losses should a share price fall.
6) Review PayPal’s performance
Whether your share portfolio is crammed full of companies or holds only a handful of stocks, it’s vital that you review how each component is performing on a regular basis: monthly, quarterly, or annually.
Doing this gives you the opportunity to review performance and consider whether any adjustments to your holdings are required – to maintain the status quo, buy more stock, or sell existing shares.
How to sell stock
At some point, you will want to sell your holdings. To do this, log in to your investing platform, type in the PYPL ticker and select the number of shares you want to sell.
Note that if you’ve made a substantial profit, you may be liable for CGT. The CGT tax-free allowance for the tax year 2022-23 is £3,000.
Investing directly in individual stocks can be an absorbing and, hopefully, profitable experience. It may also qualify you for shareholder perks specific to the company in question.
Tax treatment depends on one’s individual circumstances and may be subject to future change. The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to be, nor does it constitute, any form of tax advice.
How to invest in PayPal via a fund
Investing directly in companies can, however, leave you vulnerable to stock market volatility and unforeseen swings in share prices.
That’s why financial experts recommend that most people invest in a diversified mix of asset classes and funds that hold a ready-made portfolio of upwards of 50 different company shares.
Being a large global corporation as well as being a major component of the US stock market, PayPal is found in many global, US equity and index tracker funds.
