PayPal Holdings announced on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, third-quarter financial results that exceeded analyst projections, with revenue of $8.42 billion, up 7% from the previous year. The company also unveiled a strategic partnership with OpenAI to integrate its digital wallet into ChatGPT, enabling instant purchases within the artificial intelligence platform. Shares of the company, listed on Nasdaq under the ticker PYPL, rose as much as 15% in pre-market trading, reflecting investor optimism about operational performance and expansion into AI-driven commerce.
The deal with OpenAI marks an advance in payments within generative AI environments. With over 800 million weekly users on ChatGPT, the integration aims to facilitate direct transactions, connecting PayPal’s global merchant network to the AI tool.
In addition to quarterly figures, PayPal raised its full-year adjusted earnings per share forecast to between $5.35 and $5.39. This revision comes amid resilient consumer spending, despite a slowdown observed in September and October in the US and Europe.
Details of the OpenAI partnership
The collaboration between PayPal and OpenAI adopts the Agentic Commerce Protocol, allowing ChatGPT users to complete purchases in a few taps. PayPal will handle payment processing for cards and other methods, without requiring additional integration from merchants.
This initiative positions PayPal as the first native payment wallet in ChatGPT, with a launch planned for 2026. The company will also provide ChatGPT Enterprise access to its 24,000 employees, expanding the use of AI tools in internal operations.
Third-quarter financial results
PayPal reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.34 for the period, 12% higher than the previous year and above the analyst estimate of $1.20. Total payment volume grew, driven by a higher-margin business mix.
Revenue from Venmo, PayPal’s mobile payment platform, increased 20% in the quarter. The company highlighted cost reductions as a key factor in improving profitability.
Additionally, stablecoin payment volume reached $19.4 billion year-to-date. These indicators reinforce the strategy focused on profitable growth.
PayPal adjusted its fourth-quarter guidance, forecasting adjusted earnings per share between $1.27 and $1.31. This projection considers continued strength in consumption, even with more cautious selections by buyers.
Start of dividends and outlook for 2025
For the first time in its 27-year history, PayPal declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share. This measure signals confidence in cash generation and financial stability.
CEO Alex Chriss emphasized the strengthening of PayPal’s competitive position over the past two years. The company expects 6% to 7% growth in transaction margin in dollars for the year, excluding interest on customer balances.
Innovation strategy in payments
PayPal is expanding recent partnerships with Google and Perplexity to position itself in the AI commerce ecosystem. The OpenAI deal connects millions of products to the platform, facilitating autonomous discoveries and acquisitions.
- Integration of authentication and payment routing for merchants in ChatGPT.
- Support for buyer protections, including dispute resolution and order tracking.
- Expansion of OpenAI APIs usage by PayPal engineers, including the Codex tool.
This approach aims to capture a larger share of the global e-commerce market, estimated at $6 trillion. The company maintains 434 million active consumer and merchant accounts as of the end of 2024.
Expansion into new AI markets
PayPal plans to scale access to AI tools beyond commerce, focusing on predictive analytics and fraud detection. Transaction volume reflects a post-pandemic recovery, with emphasis on high-margin businesses.
The partnership reinforces PayPal’s network of over 400 million users who already use the platform for everyday purchases. Initiatives like this aim to transform ChatGPT into an integrated e-commerce hub.
