PYPL (PayPal Holdings) Debt-to-EBITDA : 1.35 (As of Mar. 2026) — Near Median

Author: Vera Yuan Vera Yuan
Vera Yuan
Vera Yuan
Director of Data and Quant Analytics at GuruFocus
Focused on building reliable datasets, financial models, and research tools for value-minded investors. Committed to turning complex data into practical guidance for value-investing and long-term wealth.
Reviewed by: Charlie Tian Charlie Tian
Charlie Tian
Charlie Tian
Founder & CEO of GuruFocus
Dr. Charlie Tian is the founder and CEO of GuruFocus.com, a leading global investment research platform established in 2004. With a Ph.D. in physics, Dr. Tian transitioned from science to finance, applying a data-driven, disciplined approach to value investing.

PYPL PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL
87 GF Score
Price $56.73
GF Value $83.26
Valuation Significantly Undervalued
! 4 Warning Signs
View Full Analysis

What is PayPal Holdings Debt-to-EBITDA?

PayPal Holdings PYPL +2.18% 87 Debt-to-EBITDA is 1.35 as of Mar. 2026, which is 2% below its 10-year median of 1.38. GuruFocus rates PYPL with a GF Score™ of 87/100 and a GF Value™ of $83.26 (Significantly Undervalued). The stock has 4 warning signs investors should review. Among 282 Credit Services companies, PayPal Holdings ranks better than 84.75% on this metric.

Debt-to-EBITDA measures a company's ability to pay off its debt.

PayPal Holdings's Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation for the quarter that ended in Mar. 2026 was $0 Mil. PayPal Holdings's Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation for the quarter that ended in Mar. 2026 was $9,409 Mil. PayPal Holdings's annualized EBITDA for the quarter that ended in Mar. 2026 was $6,968 Mil. PayPal Holdings's annualized Debt-to-EBITDA for the quarter that ended in Mar. 2026 was 1.35.

A high Debt-to-EBITDA ratio generally means that a company may spend more time to paying off its debt. According to Joel Tillinghast's BIG MONEY THINKS SMALL: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing, a ratio of Debt-to-EBITDA exceeding four is usually considered scary unless tangible assets cover the debt.

The historical rank and industry rank for PayPal Holdings's Debt-to-EBITDA or its related term are showing as below:

PYPL' s Debt-to-EBITDA Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 0.33   Med: 1.38   Max: 2.09
Current: 1.26

During the past 13 years, the highest Debt-to-EBITDA Ratio of PayPal Holdings was 2.09. The lowest was 0.33. And the median was 1.38.

PYPL's Debt-to-EBITDA is ranked better than
84.75% of 282 companies
in the Credit Services industry
Industry Median: 9.3 vs PYPL: 1.26

PayPal Holdings  (NAS:PYPL) Debt-to-EBITDA Explanation

In the calculation of Debt-to-EBITDA, we use the total of Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation and Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation divided by EBITDA. In some calculations, Total Liabilities is used to for calculation.


Be Aware

A high Debt-to-EBITDA ratio generally means that a company may spend more time to paying off its debt.

According to Joel Tillinghast's BIG MONEY THINKS SMALL: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing, a ratio of Debt-to-EBITDA exceeding four is usually considered scary unless tangible assets cover the debt.


PayPal Holdings Debt-to-EBITDA Related Terms


PayPal Holdings Debt-to-EBITDA Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for PayPal Holdings's Debt-to-EBITDA can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

PayPal Holdings Debt-to-EBITDA Chart

PayPal Holdings Annual Data
Trend Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23 Dec24 Dec25
Debt-to-EBITDA
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 1.44 2.09 1.42 1.47 1.30

PayPal Holdings Quarterly Data
Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23 Mar24 Jun24 Sep24 Dec24 Mar25 Jun25 Sep25 Dec25 Mar26
Debt-to-EBITDA Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 1.46 1.50 1.49 1.27 1.35

PYPL vs AFRM, SYF, SOFI: Debt-to-EBITDA Comparison

For the Credit Services subindustry, PayPal Holdings's Debt-to-EBITDA, along with its competitors' market caps and Debt-to-EBITDA data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


PayPal Holdings Debt-to-EBITDA vs Credit Services Industry

For the Credit Services industry and Financial Services sector, PayPal Holdings's Debt-to-EBITDA distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where PayPal Holdings's Debt-to-EBITDA falls into.


PYPL
87GF Score
PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL
Debt-to-EBITDA is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

PayPal Holdings Debt-to-EBITDA Calculation

Debt-to-EBITDA measures a company's ability to pay off its debt.

PayPal Holdings's Debt-to-EBITDA for the fiscal year that ended in Dec. 2025 is calculated as

Debt-to-EBITDA=Total Debt / EBITDA
=(Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation) / EBITDA
=(0 + 9987) / 7696
=1.30

PayPal Holdings's annualized Debt-to-EBITDA for the quarter that ended in Mar. 2026 is calculated as

Debt-to-EBITDA=Total Debt / EBITDA
=(Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation) / EBITDA
=(0 + 9409) / 6968
=1.35

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

In the calculation of annual Debt-to-EBITDA, the EBITDA of the last fiscal year is used. In calculating the annualized quarterly data, the EBITDA data used here is four times the quarterly (Mar. 2026) EBITDA data.

Frequently Asked Questions Learn more about Debt-to-EBITDA →
What does a Debt-to-EBITDA of 1.35 mean?
PayPal Holdings (PYPL) has a Debt-to-EBITDA of 1.35 as of Mar. 2026. Debt-to-EBITDA ratio represents the ratio of total debt to total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. View historical data on PayPal Holdings. This is near median its historical median of 1.38. Over the past decade, PayPal Holdings' Debt-to-EBITDA has ranged from 0.33 to 2.09. According to the industry distribution chart, PayPal Holdings ranks #43 out of 282 companies in the Credit Services industry, placing it in the top 15.2%.
Is PayPal Holdings' Debt-to-EBITDA too high?
PayPal Holdings' current Debt-to-EBITDA of 1.35 is near median its 10-year median of 1.38. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 0.33 to a high of 2.09. The Credit Services industry median Debt-to-EBITDA is 9.30. PayPal Holdings' value of 1.35 is 85.5% below this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, PayPal Holdings ranks #43 out of 282 companies in the Credit Services industry, which is in the top quartile — a strong position relative to peers. Overall, PayPal Holdings has a GF Score™ of 87/100 and is considered Significantly Undervalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does PayPal Holdings' Debt-to-EBITDA compare to AFRM and SYF?
According to the Credit Services industry distribution chart, PayPal Holdings ranks #43 out of 282 companies for Debt-to-EBITDA. This places PayPal Holdings in the top 15% of its industry — outperforming the majority of peers. The industry median Debt-to-EBITDA is 9.30. PayPal Holdings' value of 1.35 is 85.5% below this benchmark. Historically, PayPal Holdings' own Debt-to-EBITDA has ranged from 0.33 to 2.09 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 1.38 vs. the industry median of 9.30, PayPal Holdings has consistently been below the industry average. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Debt-to-EBITDA for a Credit Services company?
The median Debt-to-EBITDA among Credit Services companies is 9.30, based on 282 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Debt-to-EBITDA significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Debt-to-EBITDA should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. PayPal Holdings's current Debt-to-EBITDA of 1.35 is 85.5% below the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Debt-to-EBITDA mean?
A high Debt-to-EBITDA can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Debt-to-EBITDA ratio represents the ratio of total debt to total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. View historical data on PayPal Holdings. For the Credit Services industry, the median Debt-to-EBITDA is 9.30 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. PayPal Holdings's current Debt-to-EBITDA is 1.35, which is near median its own 10-year median of 1.38. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is PayPal Holdings stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) is currently considered Significantly Undervalued. The stock's GF Value™ is $83.26, compared to a current price of $56.73 — trading 31.9% below its estimated fair value. The current Debt-to-EBITDA is 1.35, which is near median its 10-year median of 1.38 and 85.5% below the Credit Services industry median of 9.30. PayPal Holdings' overall GF Score™ is 87/100 with 4 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Debt-to-EBITDA calculated?
Debt-to-EBITDA is calculated from a company's financial statements. For PayPal Holdings (PYPL), the current Debt-to-EBITDA is 1.35 as of Mar. 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.

Is PayPal Holdings (PYPL) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, PayPal Holdings stock appears to be undervalued. The current stock price of $56.73 is trading 31.9% below its estimated GF Value™ of $83.26. GuruFocus considers PayPal Holdings to be Significantly Undervalued.

Key valuation signals for PYPL:

  • Debt-to-EBITDA: 1.35 (near median its 10-year median of 1.38)
  • GF Value™: $83.26 vs. price of $56.73 (31.9% below fair value)
  • GF Score™: 87/100 with 4 warning signs
  • Industry Position: 85.5% below the Credit Services median (#43 of 282)

No single metric tells the full story. See the PYPL stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.


PayPal Holdings Business Description

Address 2211 North First Street, San Jose, CA, USA, 95131
PayPal was spun off from eBay in 2015 and provides electronic payment solutions to merchants and consumers, with a focus on online transactions. The company had 439 million active accounts at the end of 2025. The company also owns Venmo, a person-to-person payment platform.
87GF Score

Get the complete analysis for PYPL

Debt-to-EBITDA is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.

$56.73
Price
$83.26
GF Value