PayPal HoldingsPFTS:PYPL 87 Piotroski F-Score is 7 as of Jun. 26, 2026, which is 17% above its 10-year median of 6.00. GuruFocus rates PFTS:PYPL with a GF Score™ of 87/100. The stock has 4 warning signs investors should review. Among 532 Credit Services companies, PayPal Holdings ranks better than 92.29% on this metric.
Good Sign:
Piotroski F-Score is 7, indicates a very healthy situation.
The zones of discrimination were as such:
Good or high score = 7, 8, 9
Bad or low score = 0, 1, 2, 3
PayPal Holdings has an F-score of 7. It is a good or high score, which usually indicates a very healthy situation.
The historical rank and industry rank for PayPal Holdings's Piotroski F-Score or its related term are showing as below:
PFTS:PYPL'
s Piotroski F-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 4 Med: 6 Max: 8
Current: 7
During the past 13 years, the highest Piotroski F-Score of PayPal Holdings was 8. The lowest was 4. And the median was 6.
The developer of the system is Joseph D. Piotroski is relatively unknown accounting professor who shuns publicity and rarely gives interviews.
He graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in accounting in 1989, received an M.B.A. from Indiana University in 1994. Five years later, in 1999, after earning a Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Michigan, he became an associate professor of accounting at the University of Chicago.
He wanted to see if he can develop a system (using a simple nine-point scoring system) that can increase the returns of a strategy of investing in low price to book (referred to in the paper as high book to market) value companies.
What he found was something that exceeded his most optimistic expectations.
Buying only those companies that scored highest (8 or 9) on his nine-point scale, or F-Score as he called it, over the 20 year period from 1976 to 1996 led to an average out-performance over the market of 13.4%.
Even more impressive were the results of a strategy of investing in the highest F-Score companies (8 or 9) and shorting companies with the lowest F-Score (0 or 1).
Over the same period from 1976 to 1996 (20 years) this strategy led to an average yearly return of 23%, substantially outperforming the average S&P 500 index return of 15.83% over the same period.
PayPal Holdings Piotroski F-Score Related Terms
PayPal Holdings Piotroski F-Score Historical Data
* Premium members only.
The historical data trend for PayPal Holdings's Piotroski F-Score 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.
PFTS:PYPL vs AFRM, SYF, SOFI: Piotroski F-Score Comparison
For the Credit Services subindustry, PayPal Holdings's Piotroski F-Score, along with its competitors' market caps and Piotroski F-Score 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 Piotroski F-Score vs Credit Services Industry
For the Credit Services industry and Financial Services sector, PayPal Holdings's Piotroski F-Score distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where PayPal Holdings's Piotroski F-Score falls into.
* 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.
*Note: If the latest quarterly/semi-annual/annual total assets data is 0, then we will use previous quarterly/semi-annual/annual data for all the items in the balance sheet.
Profitability
Question 1. Return on Assets (ROA)
Net income before extraordinary items for the year divided by Total Assets at the beginning of the year.
Score 1 if positive, 0 if negative.
PayPal Holdings's current Net Income (TTM) was 5,059.00.
==> Positive ==> Score 1.
Question 2. Cash Flow Return on Assets (CFROA)
Net cash flow from operating activities (operating cash flow) divided by Total Assets at the beginning of the year.
PayPal Holdings's return on assets of this year was 0.06224623. PayPal Holdings's return on assets of last year was 0.05454305.
==> This year is higher. ==> Score 1.
Question 4. Quality of Earnings (Accrual)
Compare Cash flow return on assets (2) to return on assets (1)
PayPal Holdings's gearing of this year was 0.11715238. PayPal Holdings's gearing of last year was 0.13893588.
==> This year is lower or equal to last year. ==> Score 1.
Question 6. Change in Working Capital (Liquidity)
Compare this year's current ratio (current assets divided by current liabilities) to last year's current ratio.
Score 1 if this year's current ratio is higher, 0 if it's lower
PayPal Holdings's current ratio of this year was 1.2594202. PayPal Holdings's current ratio of last year was 1.30005148.
==> Last year's current ratio is higher ==> Score 0.
Question 7. Change in Shares in Issue
Compare the number of shares in issue this year, to the number in issue last year.
Score 0 if there is larger number of shares in issue this year, 1 otherwise.
PayPal Holdings's number of shares in issue this year was 920. PayPal Holdings's number of shares in issue last year was 999.
==> There is smaller number of shares in issue this year, or the same. ==> Score 1.
Efficiency
Question 8. Change in Gross Margin
Compare this year's gross margin (Gross Profit divided by sales) to last year's.
Score 1 if this year's gross margin is higher, 0 if it's lower.
PayPal Holdings's gross margin of this year was 0.46122606. PayPal Holdings's gross margin of last year was 0.46765342.
==> Last year's gross margin is higher ==> Score 0.
Question 9. Change in asset turnover
Compare this year's asset turnover (total sales for the year divided by total assets at the beginning of the year) to last year's asset turnover ratio.
Score 1 if this year's asset turnover ratio is higher, 0 if it's lower
PayPal Holdings's asset turnover of this year was 0.41506509. PayPal Holdings's asset turnover of last year was 0.38260525.
==> This year's asset turnover is higher. ==> Score 1.
Evaluation
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7
Good or high score = 7, 8, 9
Bad or low score = 0, 1, 2, 3
PayPal Holdings has an F-score of 7. It is a good or high score, which usually indicates a very healthy situation.
PayPal Holdings (PFTS:PYPL) has a Piotroski F-Score of 7 as of Jun. 26, 2026. The Piotroski F-score grades a company's business operating strength from 0-9. View historical data on PayPal Holdings and its competitors. This is 17% above median its historical median of 6.00. Over the past decade, PayPal Holdings' Piotroski F-Score has ranged from 4.00 to 8.00. According to the industry distribution chart, PayPal Holdings ranks #41 out of 532 companies in the Credit Services industry, placing it in the top 7.7%.
Is PayPal Holdings' Piotroski F-Score too high?
PayPal Holdings' current Piotroski F-Score of 7 is 17% above median its 10-year median of 6.00. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 4.00 to a high of 8.00. The Credit Services industry median Piotroski F-Score is 5.00. PayPal Holdings' value of 7 is 40% above this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, PayPal Holdings ranks #41 out of 532 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, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does PayPal Holdings' Piotroski F-Score compare to AFRM and SYF?
According to the Credit Services industry distribution chart, PayPal Holdings ranks #41 out of 532 companies for Piotroski F-Score. This places PayPal Holdings in the top 8% of its industry — outperforming the majority of peers. The industry median Piotroski F-Score is 5.00. PayPal Holdings' value of 7 is 40% above this benchmark. Historically, PayPal Holdings' own Piotroski F-Score has ranged from 4.00 to 8.00 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 6.00 vs. the industry median of 5.00, PayPal Holdings has consistently been above 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 Piotroski F-Score for a Credit Services company?
The median Piotroski F-Score among Credit Services companies is 5.00, based on 532 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Piotroski F-Score significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Piotroski F-Score should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. PayPal Holdings's current Piotroski F-Score of 7 is 40% above 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 Piotroski F-Score mean?
A high Piotroski F-Score can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. The Piotroski F-score grades a company's business operating strength from 0-9. View historical data on PayPal Holdings and its competitors. For the Credit Services industry, the median Piotroski F-Score is 5.00 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. PayPal Holdings's current Piotroski F-Score is 7, which is 17% above median its own 10-year median of 6.00. 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?
PayPal Holdings (PFTS:PYPL) has a current Piotroski F-Score of 7. The current Piotroski F-Score is 7, which is 17% above median its 10-year median of 6.00 and 40% above the Credit Services industry median of 5.00. 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 Piotroski F-Score calculated?
Piotroski F-Score is calculated from a company's financial statements. For PayPal Holdings (PFTS:PYPL), the current Piotroski F-Score is 7 as of Jun. 26, 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.
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.
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