Paypal shares surge after it says Venmo payments nearly double

PayPal posted a strong earnings report Thursday as Venmo payment volume nearly doubled year over year. Here's how the company did compared with what Wall Street expected: EPS: 46 cents vs. 43 cents expected, according to Thomson Reuters Revenue: $3.24 billion vs. $3.18 billion expected, according to Thomson Reuters In the year-ago quarter, PayPal reported earnings of 35 cents, representing 31 percent growth year over year. Revenue grew 21 percent from $2.67 billion a year ago. The payment company also raised its full-year outlook. It now expects earnings of $1.86 to $1.88 per share on revenue of $12.92 billion to $12.98 billion. Shares were last seen trading more than 4 percent higher in after-hours trade. Venmo, one of PayPal's most popular payment methods, processed $9 billion in payments in the third quarter, nearly doubling year over year. "In addition to our solid financial performance, we also reported record customer growth with the addition of 8.2 million net new actives," said CEO Dan Schulman in a statement. "As the world rapidly accelerates to digital payments, we have a tremendous opportunity in front of us." PayPal (PYPL) announced Tuesday that Venmo users will be able to use their account to pay online for purchases from most merchants that accept payments through its parent company. The company's march to fame comes after the company parted with eBay in 2015. After initially resisting pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn to split from PayPal, former eBay (EBAY) CEO John Donahoe finally agreed in 2014. With Dan Schulman at its helm, PayPal eclipsed eBay both in size and rate of growth since the breakup. PayPal's market cap of $80.9 billion is now roughly double eBay's, at $40.7 billion.

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