(Feb 8): PayPal Holdings Inc said it expects earnings to be flat this year as the financial-technology company continues to work on cutting costs and the streamlining of its businesses.

PayPal reported a 15% increase in total payments volume to US$409.8 billion (RM1.9 trillion) in the fourth quarter, beating analysts’ estimates of US$403.6 billion, while adjusted earnings totaled US$1.48 a share, topping the US$1.36 average forecast. For all of 2024, the company is expecting adjusted earnings of US$5.10 a share, unchanged from last year.

San Jose, California-based PayPal announced late last month it will cut around 9% of its total workforce, part of chief executive officer Alex Chriss’s efforts to reinvigorate profitable growth at the fintech. In November, he blamed PayPal’s slow progress on its cost base and complex structure.

The company still has ample expenses that can be reevaluated beyond its headcount as the firm works to become more efficient, Chriss said in an interview. “We’re continuing to look across the entire organisation.”

Transaction margin dollars — or revenue minus transaction costs and transaction and credit losses divided by net revenue — totalled US$3.67 billion. That metric, a key indicator of expense control for the firm, was little changed from a year earlier.

Chriss shuffled PayPal’s leadership ranks and lines of business during the quarter, and will continue to look at moving away from unprofitable businesses going forward, he has said.

Fourth-quarter net revenue came in at US$8.03 billion, up 8.7% from a year earlier.