CRCL vs PYPL vs GLXY Stock Comparison

Circle Internet, PayPal Holdings and Galaxy Digital Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PYPL PayPal Holdings, Inc.
$57.02 +8.6% 1M -18.1% 1Y
Market cap
$48.14B
P/E
9.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$34.13B
Div. yield
–
Payment Processing Technology
7 wins
GLXY Galaxy Digital Inc.
$14.68 -43.1% 1M -62.0% 1Y
Market cap
$3.02B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$57.37B
Div. yield
0.00%
Crypto Exchanges Financial Services
1 win

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

PayPal Holdings leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (PayPal Holdings 7, Circle Internet 2, Galaxy Digital 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCRCLPYPLGLXYLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $19.79B $48.14B $3.02B PYPL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 43.9x 9.8x -30.4x PYPL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 83.4x 10.3x — PYPL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +37.2% +5.7% +24.7% CRCL
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.5% 14.4% -0.2% CRCL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.2% 15.9% -3.7% PYPL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.3x -7.4x GLXY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -33.9% -18.1% -62.0% PYPL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — -25.0%/yr — –
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 95.2% 43.7% 92.4% PYPL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 46/100 69/100 24/100 PYPL

Percentile Scorecard

CRCLPYPLGLXY

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCRCLPYPLGLXY
Valuation 46 #53 of 97 91 #10 of 98 33 #65 of 97
Growth 96 #4 of 69 63 #35 of 94 7 #64 of 69
Profitability 42 #41 of 70 88 #12 of 90 22 #55 of 70
Financial Health 29 #72 of 101 39 #65 of 105 47 #54 of 101
Shareholder Returns 15 #34 of 40 67 #21 of 62 10 #36 of 40
Overall 46 69 24
  • CRCL ranked among 112 companies in Capital Markets
  • PYPL ranked among 109 companies in Fintech
  • GLXY ranked among 112 companies in Capital Markets

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCRCLPYPLGLXYSPY
1 month -6.3%+8.6%-43.1% -1.0%
3 months +37.7%+1.5%-35.3% +2.9%
6 months -13.8%+13.0%-43.5% +6.4%
Year to date +8.3%-2.3%-34.3% +11.4%
1 year -33.9%-18.1%-62.0% +13.1%
3 years —+5.1%— +79.4%
3 years, per year —+1.7%— +21.5%
5 years —-76.3%— +67.7%
5 years, per year —-25.0%— +10.9%
10 years —+29.2%— +255.2%
10 years, per year —+2.6%— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCRCLPYPLGLXYSPY
Volatility, 1Y 95.2%43.7%92.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 91.4%48.4%95.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.871.034.05 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.36-0.41-0.67 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -80.9%-84.2%-65.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -40.1%-21.9%-63.8% -2.5%
52-week high $143.29$73.02$40.55 $779.14
52-week low $50.23$39.08$14.68 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCRCLPYPLGLXY
P/E now vs peer median 47.2xmedian 29.4x 10.2xmedian 21.5x -28.5xmedian 29.4x
P/S now vs peer median 6.9xmedian 2.8x 1.4xmedian 2.2x 0.1xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 57.1xmedian 12.8x 7.4xmedian 15.7x -28.5xmedian 12.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.3xmedian 15.9x 7.5xmedian 16.4x -3.0xmedian 15.9x
P/B now vs peer median 5.7xmedian 2.5x 2.5xmedian 1.9x 2.1xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.51 0.68median 1.06 —median 0.51

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCRCLPYPLGLXY
Revenue $2.91B $34.13B $57.37B
Gross profit $1.18B – –
Operating income $215.57M $5.95B –
Net income $451.26M $4.90B -$278.24M
Free cash flow $761.52M $6.59B -$1.89B
R&D – $3.25B –
EPS (diluted) $1.68 $5.56 $-0.52
Cash & equivalents $1.73B $8.31B $895.74M
Total debt $185.92M $13.40B $11.07B
Shares (diluted) 268.64M 882.00M 192.87M
Enterprise value $13.67B $6.36B -$4.01B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCRCLPYPLGLXY
P/E 47.2x 10.2x -28.5x
P/FCF 26.3x 7.5x -3.0x
P/Operating cash flow 25.8x 6.6x -16.1x
P/S 6.9x 1.4x 0.1x
P/B 5.7x 2.5x 2.1x
P/Tangible book 6.5x 2.5x 2.1x
EV/EBITDA 57.1x 7.4x -28.5x
EV/EBIT 85.0x 8.6x -25.7x
EV/Revenue 6.3x 1.5x 0.1x
EV/FCF 24.1x 7.8x -4.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 23.6x 6.9x -21.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.68 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCRCLPYPLGLXY
Revenue growth (1Y) 37.2% 5.7% 24.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 6.1% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 47.0% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 228.3% 1.4% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 9.8% –
Net income growth (1Y) 231.5% 4.8% -54.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 6.4% –
EPS growth (1Y) 152.6% 16.1% -198.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 15.0% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 48.5% 23.2% -268.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 20.1% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 52.0% 24.5% -261.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 21.7% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCRCLPYPLGLXY
Gross margin 40.5% – –
EBITDA margin 11.0% 20.2% -0.5%
Operating margin 7.4% 17.4% –
Pretax margin 13.8% 17.2% -0.7%
Net margin 15.5% 14.4% -0.2%
FCF margin 26.2% 19.3% -3.3%
Operating cash flow margin 26.7% 21.9% -0.6%
Return on equity 13.0% 24.6% -10.1%
Return on assets 0.6% 6.0% -2.7%
Return on invested capital 6.2% 15.9% -3.7%
Return on capital employed 4.1% 17.9% -5.4%
Asset turnover 0.0x 0.4x 5.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 1.5x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 7.7% 2.9% 0.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCRCLPYPLGLXY
Debt / assets – 16.2% 32.7%
Debt / equity – 0.7x 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.3x -7.4x
Debt / FCF – 2.0x -1.9x
Liabilities / assets 95.5% 76.0% 74.9%
Equity / assets 4.5% 24.0% 25.1%
Interest coverage – – -4.1x
Current ratio 1.0x 1.3x 1.5x
Quick ratio 0.0x 0.4x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 0.23 1.90 5.92

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCRCLPYPLGLXY
Dividend yield – 1.0% –
Net buyback yield -2.7% 12.2% -6.8%
Shareholder yield -2.7% 13.2% -6.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – -3.4%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – -0.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – -80.9%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCRCLPYPLGLXY
Forward P/E 83.4xFY2026 10.3xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $1.03FY2026 $5.55FY2026 $-0.66FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +4.5%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +47.6% -3.1% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.22BFY2026 $33.55BFY2026 $38.36BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +16.9%FY2026 +1.1%FY2026 -37.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +24.3% +5.1% +30.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCRCLPYPLGLXY
Held by institutions 52.3% 74.2% 74.8%
Institutions holding 562 1,378 347
Change in shares held, QoQ +11.4% +0.8% +11.4%
Institutions buying 380 521 207
Institutions selling 120 671 93
Buyers to sellers 3.17 0.78 2.23

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CRCLPYPLGLXY
CRCL 1.00 0.26 0.52
PYPL 0.26 1.00 0.27
GLXY 0.52 0.27 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CRCL, PYPL and GLXY?

PayPal Holdings (PYPL) is the largest by market capitalisation: Circle Internet (CRCL) $19.79B, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) $48.14B, Galaxy Digital (GLXY) $3.02B.

Which stock is cheaper, CRCL, PYPL and GLXY?

PayPal Holdings (PYPL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Circle Internet (CRCL) 43.9x, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 9.8x, Galaxy Digital (GLXY) -30.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) is cheapest (Circle Internet (CRCL) 83.4x, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 10.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Circle Internet (CRCL) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Circle Internet (CRCL) +37.2%, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) +5.7%, Galaxy Digital (GLXY) +24.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Circle Internet (CRCL) has the highest net margin (Circle Internet (CRCL) 15.5%, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 14.4%, Galaxy Digital (GLXY) -0.2%). On return on invested capital, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) leads (Circle Internet (CRCL) 6.2%, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 15.9%, Galaxy Digital (GLXY) -3.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year PayPal Holdings (PYPL) returned the most: Circle Internet (CRCL) -33.9%, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) -18.1%, Galaxy Digital (GLXY) -62.0%. Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Circle Internet (CRCL) 0.00%, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 0.00%, Galaxy Digital (GLXY) 0.00%. Circle Internet (CRCL) and PayPal Holdings (PYPL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) has been the steadiest (Circle Internet (CRCL) 95.2%, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 43.7%, Galaxy Digital (GLXY) 92.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CRCL, PYPL and GLXY?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.