LITE
Lumentum Holdings Inc.
LITE has the edge over PYPL overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
PYPL
PayPal Holdings, Inc.
PYPL has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
LITE Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
LITE's revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its profitability is stable.
PYPL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
PYPL's profitability is currently healthy, and its revenue is stable. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like PYPL.
LITE PE Valuation
LITE has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
PYPL PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 9.9x | $58.30 | — |
| Current | 11x | $58.30 | — |
| Cheap | 15x | $76.16 | +31% |
| Fair | 26x | $136 | +133% |
| Expensive | 67x | $351 | +503% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PYPL's PE is in its cheap range at 11x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 9.9x next year's earnings.
LITE Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
LITE has the edge over PYPL on the outlook, with more favorable revenue expectations.
PYPL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect PYPL's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
LITE Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $29.10 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$89.47 | -5589% |
| Q2 2026 | -$92.96 | -25224% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.54 | +$12.02 |
| Q4 2025 | $3.40 | +$11.12 |
| Q3 2025 | $1.63 | +$9.94 |
| Q2 2025 | $0.37 | +$8.49 |
| Q1 2025 | -$6.48 | -$1.22 |
| Q4 2024 | -$7.72 | -$3.77 |
LITE has swung to a loss: it lost $89.47 per share over the past year, after a profit the year before.
PYPL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.87 | +12% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.24 | +5.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.29 | +14% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.33 | +20% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.41 | +36% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.97 | +19% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.66 | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.45 | +12% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.99 | +3.9% |
PYPL has the edge over LITE on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
LITE Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.3B | +137% |
| Q2 2026 | $1B | +109% |
| Q1 2026 | $808.4M | +90% |
| Q4 2025 | $665.5M | +65% |
| Q3 2025 | $533.8M | +58% |
| Q2 2025 | $480.7M | +56% |
| Q1 2025 | $425.2M | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $402.2M | +9.7% |
LITE has the edge over PYPL on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 29% | +27 points |
| Q2 2026 | 28% | +30 points |
| Q1 2026 | 22% | +31 points |
| Q4 2025 | 9.7% | +23 points |
| Q3 2025 | 1.3% | +26 points |
| Q2 2025 | -1.8% | +42 points |
| Q1 2025 | -8.9% | +22 points |
| Q4 2024 | -13% | +16 points |
LITE has the edge over PYPL on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
PYPL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $8.6B | +2% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.7B | +4.8% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.4B | +7.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $8.7B | +3.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $8.4B | +7.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.3B | +5.1% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.8B | +1.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $8.4B | +4.2% |
PYPL's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $8.6B last quarter, up 2% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 16% | -1.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 16% | -1.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 18% | -1.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 17% | +0.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 18% | +0.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 18% | +1.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 20% | +4.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 17% | -4.3 points |
PYPL's operating margin was 16% last quarter, down 1.7 points from the same quarter a year ago.
LITE Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $37.9M | +$56.2M |
| Q2 2026 | $196.2M | +1843% |
| Q1 2026 | $79.1M | +$143.5M |
| Q4 2025 | $43.1M | +$59M |
| Q3 2025 | -$18.3M | +$16.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $10.1M | -7.3% |
| Q1 2025 | -$64.4M | -$37.8M |
| Q4 2024 | -$15.9M | +$16.6M |
LITE has the edge over PYPL on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
PYPL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.4B | -17% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.8B | +157% |
| Q1 2026 | $903M | -6.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.2B | 0% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.7B | +19% |
| Q2 2025 | $692M | -49% |
| Q1 2025 | $964M | -45% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.2B | -11% |
PYPL's free cash flow was $6.3B over the past year, up 13% from the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like PYPL.
LITE Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 7.9x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 21.6x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 22.7x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 27.9x | High |
| Q3 2023 | -34.7x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2023 | -7.2x | Net Cash |
LITE's net debt is about 1.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from more than 20 years a year ago.
PYPL Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.5x | Very low |
PYPL has the edge over LITE on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
LITE Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 42.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 22.8 | Neutral |
LITE's weekly RSI is 42 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 23 (neutral).
PYPL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 58.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 61.9 | Neutral |
PYPL's weekly RSI is 58 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 62 (neutral).
LITE PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | LITE | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 28x | — |
LITE has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
PYPL PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | PYPL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 11x | 13x | 15% below |
| PE % | 10 | 63 | 53 pts below |
PYPL is trading at 11x earnings, a 15% discount to the Financial Services sector's median of 13x.
LITE Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $839.3 | 26% below |
| 20 week MA | $838.6 | 26% below |
| 50 week MA | $732.7 | 15% below |
| 100 week MA | $422.7 | 48% above |
| 200 week MA | $237.9 | 163% above |
LITE has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 163% above its 200-week average.
PYPL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $56.5 | 3.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $55.5 | 5% above |
| 50 week MA | $51.5 | 13% above |
| 100 week MA | $61.6 | 5.4% below |
| 200 week MA | $64.5 | 9.6% below |
PYPL has the edge over LITE on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
LITE Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $79.0 | $98.3 | +24% |
| 2021 | $98.3 | $104.5 | +6.3% |
| 2022 | $104.5 | $50.6 | -52% |
| 2023 | $50.6 | $52.4 | +3.7% |
| 2024 | $52.4 | $84.4 | +61% |
| 2025 | $84.4 | $390.8 | +363% |
| 2026 YTD | $390.8 | $624.7 | +60% |
LITE has the edge over PYPL on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
PYPL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $109.4 | $238.6 | +118% |
| 2021 | $238.6 | $192.0 | -20% |
| 2022 | $192.0 | $69.0 | -64% |
| 2023 | $69.0 | $61.4 | -11% |
| 2024 | $61.4 | $86.9 | +41% |
| 2025 | $86.9 | $60.0 | -31% |
| 2026 YTD | $60.0 | $58.3 | -2.8% |
PYPL's yearly returns have swung widely, from +118% in 2020 to −64% in 2022. It's down 2.8% so far in 2026.