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PayPal key statistics and ratios

In fiscal 2025, PayPal had return on equity of 25.7%, an operating margin of 18.3%, debt equal to 57.2% of equity and a current ratio of 1.29. Each ratio below is calculated from the figures on its income statement, balance sheet and cash flow pages.

Financial ratios

US$ thousands unless shown otherwise. Fiscal years, plus the last twelve months (LTM) when newer.

Fiscal year2013Dec 20132014Dec 20142015Dec 20152016Dec 20162017Dec 20172018Dec 20182019Dec 20192020Dec 20202021Dec 20212022Dec 20222023Dec 20232024Dec 20242025Dec 2025LTMSept 2026
Operating margin16.2%15.8%15.8%14.6%16.2%14.2%15.3%15.3%16.8%13.9%16.9%16.7%18.3%17.0%
Net margin14.2%5.2%13.3%12.9%13.7%13.3%13.8%19.6%16.4%8.8%14.3%13.0%15.8%13.8%
Free-cash-flow margin23.8%21.5%19.7%23.0%14.2%30.1%18.9%25.0%19.3%18.6%14.2%21.3%16.8%18.4%
Return on equity12.9%5.4%11.2%9.8%11.7%13.1%15.2%22.8%20.0%11.5%20.5%20.0%25.7%23.8%
Return on assets—1.9%4.8%4.5%4.9%4.9%5.2%6.9%5.7%3.1%5.3%5.2%6.6%5.8%
Asset turnover—0.370.360.350.350.370.380.350.350.360.370.400.420.42
Current ratio—1.321.521.521.431.271.431.331.221.281.291.281.291.26
Debt to equity0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%6.3%13.0%29.6%45.0%41.4%51.4%50.5%51.8%57.2%69.1%
Interest cover (operating income ÷ interest)—————28.5x23.6x15.7x18.4x12.6x14.5x13.9x13.8x12.0x
Effective tax rate11.9%66.8%17.5%14.1%18.4%13.4%18.0%17.0%−1.7%28.1%————
R&D as % of revenue10.8%9.3%8.6%7.7%7.3%6.9%————————
Capital spending as % of revenue5.8%6.1%7.8%6.2%5.1%5.3%4.0%4.0%3.6%2.6%2.1%2.1%2.6%2.3%
Free cash flow ÷ net income167.7%412.4%148.5%177.7%103.8%226.4%136.9%127.4%117.3%211.1%99.4%163.2%106.3%133.3%
Dividends ÷ net income——————————0.0%0.0%2.5%10.6%
Dividends and buybacks ÷ free cash flow—0.0%0.0%40.0%54.0%75.6%41.9%30.5%69.0%82.2%118.5%89.4%111.1%104.0%

Returns use average equity or assets over the year. Return on equity is left blank when equity is negative or so small that the ratio says nothing (above ±200%); interest cover is left blank above 200 times. Price-based ratios such as P/E are on the valuation page.

Financial health

4 of 7 checks passed · September 30, 2026
What it owns · $81.6bn
Short-term assets $60.5bnLonger-term assets $21.1bn
What it owes, and who funded it · $81.6bn
Short-term liabilities $47.9bnLonger-term liabilities $14.2bnShareholders' equity $19.5bn
  • Short-term assets cover short-term liabilities $60.5bn of assets due within a year against $47.9bn of liabilities due within a year.
  • Short-term assets cover long-term liabilities $60.5bn short-term assets against $14.2bn of longer-dated liabilities.
  • More cash than debt $7.2bn of cash against $13.5bn of debt.
  • Debt below 40% of shareholders' equity Debt is 69% of equity.
  • Debt burden no higher than five years ago Debt to equity moved from 40% to 69% over five years.
  • A year's operating cash flow covers at least 20% of debt $7.1bn of operating cash flow against $13.5bn of debt.
  • Operating profit covers interest at least five times over Operating income of $5.8bn against $486m of interest.

From PayPal's latest balance sheet as filed. Checks are fixed, documented rules (methodology), counted only where the company reports the figures — a dot means the filing doesn't break the item out. Descriptions of reported data, not advice.

Moat

66 /100

Moderate moat

How hard PayPal's competitive advantage looks for rivals to wear away, judged from 10 years of its own filings: returns on capital, pricing power, profit durability, cash conversion and discipline.

  • Returns on capital 6 / 20

    Net income has been a median 5.0% of total assets over 10 years.

  • Durability 14 / 20

    Operating margin has been a median 15.9%; its worst year was 13.5%.

  • Cash conversion 20 / 20

    Free cash flow was positive in 10 of 10 years, at a median 21.7% of revenue.

  • Discipline 16 / 20

    The diluted share count fell 24.4% over five years; stock-based pay has been a median 5.0% of revenue.

AI disruption exposure: Medium. In this industry, AI could change how the product is made or sold, without replacing the core asset. The score above includes a 5-point deduction for that exposure (71 before it).

A rules-based reading of reported figures, not a forecast and not investment advice. How the score is built: methodology.

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Figures from PayPal's SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q), retrieved October 29, 2026. How we read and check them: methodology and data sources. Not investment advice. Back to PayPal.