PayPal’s net income jumps more than 100% in the fiscal third quarter.

PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) said on Monday that its revenue in the fiscal third quarter was better than expected. The company attributed its hawkish quarterly performance to the Coronavirus pandemic that fuelled e-commerce in recent months.

Shares of the company were reported about 6% down in extending trading on Monday. On a year to date basis, PayPal is now close to 70% up in the stock market after gaining more than 100% since late March, when the impact of COVID-9 was at its peak. Interesting in investing in the stock market online? Here’s a simple guide to get you started.

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PayPal’s Q3 financial results versus analysts’ estimates

At £790 million, PayPal said that its net income in the third quarter was significantly higher than £357.73 million in the same quarter last year. On an adjusted basis, the worldwide online payments system earned 83 pence per share in the recent quarter versus the year-ago figure of 58.85 pence per share. FactSet Consensus for PayPal’s per-share earnings in Q3 stood at 72.78 pence.

PayPal launched its “buy now, pay later” service in the United Kingdom last month.

In terms of revenue, the American company posted £4.23 billion in the third quarter. In comparison, it had generated a lower £3.39 billion of revenue in Q3 of 2019. Analysts had anticipated £4.20 billion of revenue for PayPal in the recent quarter.  

In an announcement in late October, PayPal said that it was interested in acquiring crypto companies and start working with cryptocurrencies.

PayPal’s guidance for the full fiscal year

Including 1.5 million merchant accounts, the Palo Alto-based company said its total active accounts increased by 15.2 million in the fiscal third quarter. Total payment volume that PayPal processed in Q3 registered at £191.25 billion versus £180.18 billion expected. Its Venmo platform recorded £34.07 billion of total payment volume in the recent quarter.

For the full fiscal year, the online payment processor now forecasts a minimum of 30% growth in total payment volume, and up to 28% growth in adjusted per-share earnings. PayPal estimates an up to 22% growth in its annual revenue on a currency-neutral basis.

PayPal performed fairly upbeat in the stock market last year with an annual gain of about 30%. At the time of writing, the online payment processor is valued at £170.58 billion and has a price to earnings ratio of 86.18.