Retail consumers now favour Apple Pay over PayPal

PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) is no longer the favoured in-store mobile wallets for retail buyers. Its shares are still up 5.0% on Thursday. 

Apple Pay is used more for purchases

That title now rests with Apple Pay, as per a survey of 1,730 consumers that PYMNTS Intelligence conducted in April. 

PayPal first lost the said crown to Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) in the first quarter of 2023. But the latter’s victory last year proved short-lived with $PYPL quickly regaining the top spot in Q2. 

But Apple Pay surpassed PayPal again in the first quarter of 2024 - and remained well ahead of it in Q2. 12% of the retail customers used a digital wallet for their last purchase. About 6.0% opted for Apple Pay while only 4.0% used $PYPL, revealed PYMNTS on Thursday. 

PayPal stock that does not pay a dividend at writing is currently down some 12% versus its 52-week high. Earlier in 2024, Alex Chriss - its new chief executive said the financial technology behemoth will “shock the world”.

What does it mean for PayPal stock?

Apple Pay has been an area of rapid growth for the iPhone maker. In fact, revenue it generated came in at an all-time high in the company’s latest reported quarter. Luca Maestri - the chief executive of $AAPL said on the earnings call last month:

Mobile purchases at large have been on a rise in recent months. Karen Webster (PYMNTS CEO) herself made close to 60 transactions with Apple Pay in January and February of 2024 versus 40 she did in all of 2022, as per a feature she published in March. 

The news arrives only days after a senior Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev upgraded PayPal stock to “buy” and said its shares could hit $90 in the next twelve months which translates to well over 35% upside from here. 

He’s particularly bullish on fintech's recently introduced one-click checkout tool (find out more). Last month, $PYPL reported its financial results for the first quarter that topped Street estimates as well.