E-commerce payments processor PayPal Holdings Inc beat Wall Street estimates on Wednesday with an 86 per cent increase in quarterly profit driven by the shift to online spending amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The company said it expects the trends to continue and said that for the full year it now expects earnings per share to increase about 25 per cent on 22 per cent revenue growth.
Three months ago the company had withdrawn full-year guidance because of uncertainty about the economic consequences of the pandemic.
The company processed $222 billion in payments over the period, up 30 per cent from a year earlier, adjusted for foreign exchange. The rate of payment growth compares with a year-earlier increase of 26 per cent that had slowed to 19 per cent in the first quarter when the pandemic broke and retail spending collapsed broadly.
Revenue increased 25 per cent to $5.26 billion, topping the average analyst estimate of $5.0 billion.
Net income increased to $1.53 billion, or $1.29 per share, in the quarter ended June 30, from $823 million, or 69 cents per share, a year earlier.
The results reflected an unrealized investment gain worth 58 cents a share and included additional loan loss reserves amounting to 7 cents a share, down from the 17-cent reserve addition in the first quarter.
On an adjusted basis, the company said net income rose to $1.26 billion, or $1.07 per share, from $848 million, or 71 cents per share, a year earlier.
Shares of the company were as much as 2.8 per cent higher after the bell.
Since last reporting results on May 6, PayPal shares had surged more than 40 per cent as an investment play on e-commerce.
The shares were up 4.7 per cent on Wednesday in regular market trading before the new results were posted.
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