PayPal not planning sale despite Stripe acquisition rumors
27 Feb 2026

PayPal is not looking to sell itself, according to Semafor.

The report follows Bloomberg's earlier claim that Stripe Inc. showed interest in acquiring part or all of PayPal Holdings, which encompasses its main product PayPal, related services, and other platforms such as Venmo.

However, Stripe declined to comment on these rumors.

Preparing for potential activist investor campaign
Strategic moves

Despite the acquisition speculation, Semafor's sources say PayPal has been working with bankers to prepare for a potential activist investor campaign or hostile takeover.

These bankers were reportedly working with Alex Chriss, the company's former CEO who was recently ousted.

PayPal is set to welcome a new CEO next week, as per its official statement.

PayPal shares have dropped after getting major boost
Scenario

PayPal shares dropped over 4% on Thursday after reports indicated the company is not in talks to sell itself to Stripe or any other buyer.

Earlier in the week, PayPal shares jumped 6.7% to $47.02 in New York, boosting the company's market value to $43.3 billion as investors reacted to the acquisition rumors.