PayPal surges 9% after solid earnings, growth in Venmo showing the app may finally become a moneymaker

PayPal shares soared 9 percent on Friday after the company beat expectations on earnings and revenue and announced positive news about its peer-to-peer app Venmo.

The payment company’s stock hit a high above $86. Shares are up more than 26 percent year over year.

On Thursday, PayPal reported third-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations, though payment volumes fell slightly short of estimates. The company also raised its fourth-quarter and full-year guidance.

Venmo, which has struggled to contribute to PayPal’s bottom line, had an especially bright third quarter. Its total payment volumes grew 78 percent, to $17 billion.

That still makes up a fraction of PayPal’s total $143 billion in volume, but it’s an encouraging sign, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman said on a call with analysts.

He pointed to some tangible growth in the social app’s ability to make money. “Our monetization efforts appear to be reaching a tipping point,” Schulman said.

Twenty-four percent of Venmo users have now participated in what the CEO called a “monetizable action”— up from 17 percent in the second quarter and 13 percent in May. In September alone, PayPal said, it processed more than $1 billion in instant transfer volume on Venmo.

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