PYPL vs SE vs UPST Stock Comparison

PayPal Holdings, Sea and Upstart Holdings Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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PYPL PayPal Holdings, Inc.
$60.20 +10.6% 1M -8.9% 1Y
Market cap
$50.00B
P/E
10.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$34.30B
Div. yield
–
Payment Processing Technology
9 wins
SE Sea Ltd
$80.23 -17.2% 1M -48.7% 1Y
Market cap
$44.99B
P/E
26.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$26.55B
Div. yield
–
Digital Marketplaces Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

PayPal Holdings leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (PayPal Holdings 9, Sea 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPYPLSEUPSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $50.00B $44.99B $2.12B PYPL
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 10.6x 26.7x 32.6x PYPL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.8x 21.2x 33.9x PYPL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.4% +43.5% +41.3% SE
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 13.8% 6.3% 4.9% PYPL
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.6% — 2.1% PYPL
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.5x — 17.9x PYPL
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -8.9% -48.7% -49.4% PYPL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -23.2%/yr -25.9%/yr -41.2%/yr PYPL
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 43.5% 52.6% 65.9% PYPL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 71/100 52/100 SE

Percentile Scorecard

PYPLSEUPST

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

AxisPYPLSEUPST
Valuation 91 #10 of 99 76 #40 of 166 54 #46 of 99
Growth 59 #39 of 94 68 #50 of 154 84 #16 of 94
Profitability 87 #13 of 90 69 #48 of 154 53 #43 of 90
Financial Health 39 #64 of 105 69 #57 of 179 10 #95 of 105
Shareholder Returns 66 #22 of 63 – 61 #25 of 63
Overall 68 71 52
  • PYPL ranked among 109 companies in Fintech
  • SE ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • UPST ranked among 109 companies in Fintech

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPYPLSEUPSTSPY
1 month +10.6%-17.2%-4.0% -1.0%
3 months +3.9%-30.2%-22.6% -0.4%
6 months +30.1%-10.9%-18.5% +4.5%
Year to date +3.1%-37.1%-46.5% +12.4%
1 year -8.9%-48.7%-49.4% +13.6%
3 years +7.3%+79.1%-22.9% +76.4%
3 years, per year +2.4%+21.5%-8.3% +20.8%
5 years -73.3%-77.6%-92.9% +63.7%
5 years, per year -23.2%-25.9%-41.2% +10.4%
10 years +47.2%—— +267.7%
10 years, per year +3.9%—— +13.9%

Risk

MeasurePYPLSEUPSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 43.5%52.6%65.9% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 48.2%55.4%69.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.971.322.97 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.20-0.93-0.75 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -83.0%-90.3%-96.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.5%-49.1%-53.9% -1.6%
52-week high $68.06$157.76$50.70 $779.14
52-week low $39.08$74.01$21.31 $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.

MultiplePYPLSEUPST
P/E now vs peer median 10.8xmedian 21.9x 28.4xmedian 18.2x 35.2xmedian 21.9x
P/S now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 2.3x 1.8xmedian 1.5x 1.7xmedian 2.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.9xmedian 16.4x —median 15.3x 44.3xmedian 16.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 8.0xmedian 17.4x 9.4xmedian 12.2x -12.4xmedian 17.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 1.7x —median 1.8x 2.6xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.63median 0.91 0.38median 0.38 1.19median 0.91

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 monthsPYPLSEUPST
Revenue $34.30B $26.55B $1.34B
Gross profit – $12.29B $1.11B
Operating income $5.83B $2.28B $62.04M
Net income $4.73B $3.91B $65.11M
Free cash flow $6.30B $5.22B -$186.96M
R&D $3.28B $1.17B $333.54M
EPS (diluted) $5.51 $2.64 $0.52
Cash & equivalents $7.16B $3.53B $461.48M
Total debt $13.47B $316.17M $2.03B
Shares (diluted) 858.00M 638.23M 125.41M
Enterprise value $8.70B $4.87B $81.85M

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
MetricPYPLSEUPST
P/E 10.8x 28.4x 35.2x
P/FCF 8.0x 9.4x -12.4x
P/Operating cash flow 7.1x 9.4x -12.8x
P/S 1.5x 1.8x 1.7x
P/B 2.6x – 2.6x
P/Tangible book 2.6x – 2.6x
EV/EBITDA 7.9x – 44.3x
EV/EBIT 9.2x 17.6x 62.5x
EV/Revenue 1.6x 1.5x 2.9x
EV/FCF 8.5x 7.7x -20.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.6x 7.7x -21.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.63 0.38 1.19

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPYPLSEUPST
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.4% 43.5% 41.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.6% 27.7% 33.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 41.1% 43.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – -83.4% 39.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) -2.8% 57.3% 227.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 8.6% 26.1% 30.7%
Net income growth (1Y) -3.9% -97.5% 102.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 7.9% 26.3% 31.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 7.6% 31.1% 76.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 17.1% 73.7% 29.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 10.4% 14.3% 50.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.9% 56.7% 3.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 13.2% 14.3% 49.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 25.5% 56.7% 3.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPYPLSEUPST
Gross margin – 46.3% 82.7%
EBITDA margin 19.8% – 6.5%
Operating margin 17.0% 8.6% 4.6%
Pretax margin 16.6% 11.6% 5.0%
Net margin 13.8% 6.3% 4.9%
FCF margin 18.4% 19.6% -14.0%
Operating cash flow margin 20.7% 19.6% -13.5%
Return on equity 24.1% – 7.7%
Return on assets 5.8% 12.5% 2.0%
Return on invested capital 14.6% – 2.1%
Return on capital employed 17.0% 15.0% –
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.8x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.3x -2.8x
Stock comp / revenue 2.8% – 11.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPYPLSEUPST
Debt / assets 16.5% 1.0% 60.7%
Debt / equity 0.7x – 2.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.5x – 17.9x
Debt / FCF 2.1x 0.1x -10.8x
Liabilities / assets 76.1% 59.2% 73.4%
Equity / assets 23.9% – 26.6%
Interest coverage – 123.4x 1.4x
Current ratio 1.3x 1.5x –
Quick ratio 0.4x 0.6x –
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.6x –
Altman Z-score 1.94 – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPYPLSEUPST
Dividend yield 0.9% – –
Net buyback yield 11.9% – 3.5%
Shareholder yield 12.9% – 3.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
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.

ConsensusPYPLSEUPST
Forward P/E 10.8xFY2026 21.2xFY2026 33.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.55FY2026 $3.79FY2026 $0.69FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +4.5%FY2026 +8.3%FY2026 -58.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -3.1% +14.2% +191.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $33.55BFY2026 $30.91BFY2026 $1.35BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +1.1%FY2026 +34.7%FY2026 +29.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.1% +21.1% +42.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPYPLSEUPST
Held by institutions 74.2% 63.6% 60.0%
Institutions holding 1,382 776 365
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.8% +0.6% +3.2%
Institutions buying 523 439 197
Institutions selling 672 223 98
Buyers to sellers 0.78 1.97 2.01

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.

PYPLSEUPST
PYPL 1.00 0.18 0.29
SE 0.18 1.00 0.27
UPST 0.29 0.27 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PYPL, SE and UPST?

PayPal Holdings (PYPL) is the largest by market capitalisation: PayPal Holdings (PYPL) $50.00B, Sea (SE) $44.99B, Upstart Holdings (UPST) $2.12B.

Which stock is cheaper, PYPL, SE and UPST?

PayPal Holdings (PYPL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 10.6x, Sea (SE) 26.7x, Upstart Holdings (UPST) 32.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) is cheapest (PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 10.8x, Sea (SE) 21.2x, Upstart Holdings (UPST) 33.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Sea (SE) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: PayPal Holdings (PYPL) +4.4%, Sea (SE) +43.5%, Upstart Holdings (UPST) +41.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

PayPal Holdings (PYPL) has the highest net margin (PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 13.8%, Sea (SE) 6.3%, Upstart Holdings (UPST) 4.9%). On return on invested capital, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) leads (PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 14.6%, Upstart Holdings (UPST) 2.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year PayPal Holdings (PYPL) returned the most: PayPal Holdings (PYPL) -8.9%, Sea (SE) -48.7%, Upstart Holdings (UPST) -49.4%. Over five years, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) compounded fastest (PayPal Holdings (PYPL) -23.2%/yr, Sea (SE) -25.9%/yr, Upstart Holdings (UPST) -41.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, PayPal Holdings (PYPL) has been the steadiest (PayPal Holdings (PYPL) 43.5%, Sea (SE) 52.6%, Upstart Holdings (UPST) 65.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, PYPL, SE and UPST?

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 9. 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.