META
Meta Platforms, Inc.
META offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
PYPL
PayPal Holdings, Inc.
PYPL has a slight edge over META overall, supported by stronger valuation and lower modeled downside.
META Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
META's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow 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.
META PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 19x | $624 | — |
| Cheap | 21x | $613 | -1.7% |
| Current | 21x | $624 | — |
| Fair | 27x | $803 | +29% |
| Expensive | 32x | $934 | +50% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
META's PE is in its cheap range at 21x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 19x next year's earnings.
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 has the edge over META in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
META Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly weakening | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for META, but weaker profitability. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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.
META Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $32.16 | +9.7% |
| Q3 2026 | $29.32 | +30% |
| Q2 2026 | $26.54 | -3.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $27.50 | +7.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $23.49 | -1.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $22.58 | +6.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $27.56 | +41% |
| Q1 2025 | $25.58 | +47% |
| Q4 2024 | $23.86 | +60% |
META earned $29.32 per share over the past year, up 30% from 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's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $5.24 over the past year, up 5.4% from the year before, and higher year over year for 14 quarters in a row.
META Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $64.6B | +26% |
| Q2 2026 | $60.8B | +28% |
| Q1 2026 | $56.3B | +33% |
| Q4 2025 | $59.9B | +24% |
| Q3 2025 | $51.2B | +26% |
| Q2 2025 | $47.5B | +22% |
| Q1 2025 | $42.3B | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $48.4B | +21% |
META has the edge over PYPL on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 20% | -20 points |
| Q2 2026 | 31% | -12 points |
| Q1 2026 | 41% | -0.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 41% | -7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 40% | -2.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 43% | +5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 41% | +3.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 48% | +7.4 points |
META 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.
META Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$1.2B | -110% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.7B | -81% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.2B | +19% |
| Q4 2025 | $14.8B | +9.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.2B | -32% |
| Q2 2025 | $9B | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $11.1B | -14% |
| Q4 2024 | $13.6B | +16% |
META usually generates cash, though not every quarter: the latest was −$1.2B, but it generated $28.6B over the past year.
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.
META Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.3% | +7M shares |
| 1 year | 0% | +1M shares |
| 3 years | -2.6% | -68M shares |
| 5 years | -10% | -286M shares |
| Available history | -11% | -303M shares |
META has 2.6B diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $3.3B |
| Q2 2025 | $10.2B |
| Q1 2025 | $12.8B |
| Q4 2024 | — |
META hasn't bought back shares in the past year.
PYPL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -2.7% | -24M shares |
| 1 year | -11% | -102M shares |
| 3 years | -22% | -240M shares |
| 5 years | -28% | -329M shares |
| Available history | -28% | -329M shares |
PYPL has the edge over META on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.5B |
| Q2 2026 | $1.6B |
| Q1 2026 | $1.5B |
| Q4 2025 | $1.5B |
| Q3 2025 | $1.5B |
| Q2 2025 | $1.6B |
| Q1 2025 | $1.5B |
| Q4 2024 | $1.3B |
PYPL spent $6.1B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 4% from the year before.
META Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
META has the edge over PYPL on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA). Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like PYPL.
META Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 48.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 33.7 | Neutral |
META's weekly RSI is 48 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 34 (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).
META PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | META | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 16x | 29% above |
| PE % | 18 | 26 | 8 pts below |
META is trading at 21x earnings, a 29% premium to the Communication Services sector's median of 16x.
PYPL PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | PYPL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 11x | 13x | 15% below |
| PE % | 10 | 63 | 53 pts below |
PYPL has the edge over META on valuation relative to its sector.
META Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $674.9 | 7.6% below |
| 20 week MA | $634.5 | 1.7% below |
| 50 week MA | $630.8 | 1.1% below |
| 100 week MA | $647.8 | 3.7% below |
| 200 week MA | $517.5 | 21% above |
META has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 21% 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 META on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
META Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $208.1 | $267.4 | +28% |
| 2021 | $267.4 | $335.2 | +25% |
| 2022 | $335.2 | $118.0 | -65% |
| 2023 | $118.0 | $354.0 | +200% |
| 2024 | $354.0 | $599.8 | +69% |
| 2025 | $599.8 | $663.3 | +11% |
| 2026 YTD | $663.3 | $623.6 | -6% |
META's yearly returns have swung widely, from +200% in 2023 to −65% in 2022. It's down 6% so far in 2026.
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 has the edge over META on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.