PayPal Holdings Inc. today appointed long-time technology executive Enrique Lores as its new chief executive officer.
Lores previously held the same role at HP Inc., which he joined in 1989 as an intern. The personal computer and printer maker said director Bruce Broussard will serve as interim CEO while it searches for a permanent successor.
Lores will step into his new role at PayPal on March 1. He is replacing Alex Chriss, who left the payment processing giant today in conjunction with the release of its latest quarterly results. PayPal’s earnings, revenue and full-year forecast missed analyst expectations and its 2027 guidance was scrapped.
“We have not moved fast enough or with the level of focus required, and we are taking immediate steps to address that reality,” PayPal Chief Financial Officer Jamie Miller told investors today. “The board’s appointment of Enrique reflects a clear commitment to strengthening performance.”
The company attributes the earnings miss primarily to its branded checkout segment, which includes revenue from PayPal-branded payment buttons in e-commerce websites. The business grew 1% year-over-year in the fourth quarter compared with 6% the same time 12 months earlier.
The slowdown stemmed from multiple factors. Miller said that the company should have provided more technical support to large merchants interested in implementing PayPal-branded payment buttons. Additionally, she stated that “product deployment in the second half of the year” was slower than the company had planned.
Under the new leadership, PayPal intends to boost its branded checkout business by inking more co-marketing agreements with online merchants. It also plans to broaden the adoption of a feature called vaulting. The capability reduces the number of steps involved in making an online purchase with PayPal.
While the company’s branded checkout segment fell short of expectations, there were also bright spots in its earnings report. Revenue from Venmo, a payments app for consumers, rose 20% last year to $1.7 billion. The total value of transactions processed by PayPal’s buy now, pay later service topped $40 billion.
Lores is taking over the helm following a six-year stint as the CEO of HP. Under his tenure, the company launched multiple cost-cutting initiatives and developed artificial intelligence services that automate tasks such as preparing documents for printing. Lores earlier headed the team that managed HP’s split from Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. in 2015.
The company reaffirmed its quarterly and annual earnings guidance in conjunction with the announcement of the leadership change. HP expects to generate adjusted earnings of $2.47 to $2.77 per share in its current fiscal year.
Photo: PayPal
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