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I always keep a list of what I believe are the ‘best stocks to buy now’. It’s a handy habit that helps me keep track of exciting opportunities to capitalise every time I have spare capital to invest. But despite being a British investor, my list isn’t isolated to the London Stock Exchange.
There are plenty of international stocks, especially in the S&P 500, that look like they offer promising long-term returns. And while US stocks often trade at more lofty premiums compared to UK shares, every once in a while an attractive price emerges.
Right now, the US stock that’s caught my attention is one that’s already in my portfolio – PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ:PYPL). Let’s take a closer look.
A payment processing giant
In the world of digital payment processing, PayPal’s king. The online payment platform currently controls an estimated 45.5% of the US market, according to Datanyze. That puts it significantly ahead of its closest competitors, Stripe and Shopify Payments.
And while its rivals are certainly turning up the heat, PayPal has retained its crown, and continues to expand its total payment volume, even in the current weakened economic landscape.
But if that’s the case, why has the PayPal share price collapsed by over 70% since July 2021? There are a lot of factors behind this downfall. However, a leading cause was miscommunication.
Management had previously announced its target to double its user base to 750 million. But shortly after this announcement, the entire growth plan was scrapped, with the focus shifting towards improving the quality of its existing user base. Pairing this U-turn in strategy with a lofty valuation and the subsequent stock market correction translated into a brutal selloff.
However, things have started to look interesting.
A buying opportunity for a comeback story?
Today, PayPal has different leadership. Intuit’s Alex Chriss now sits in the corner office as CEO, and EY’s Jamie Miller has taken over the role of CFO. Meanwhile, Sirni Venkatesan has joined the ranks as CTO after leaving his position in Walmart.
So what’s happened since this management shake-up? It’s still early days, but PayPal’s already started expanding its partnerships with the launch of a new feature called Fastlane. This eliminates the need for online shoppers to fill out passwords, shipping & billing addresses, or card information without sacrificing security.
It’s a massive win for improving the shopping experience, and it’s one that Adyen, Salesforce, and Adobe have already integrated into their own commerce platforms.
Meanwhile, Shopify’s just added support for PayPal wallet transactions. In other words, PayPal now has brand new avenues to expand its total payment volume. And when paired with margin improvements, earnings are now back in double-digit growth territory.
At a forward price-to-earnings ratio of just 17.4, PayPal shares seem to be undervalued if management continues to deliver progress. And while the threat of alternative payment processing solutions can’t be ignored, the lower valuation makes it a risk worth taking, in my opinion. That’s why I think it could be one of the best stocks to buy for my portfolio so I’ll be buying more soon.
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