# PayPal's new CEO says no to a $50 billion exit

> Enrique Lores walked away from a buyout and now has to prove PayPal can fix itself.
- Title: PayPal's new CEO says no to a $50 billion exit · Pymnts
- Summary: Enrique Lores walked away from a buyout and now has to prove PayPal can fix itself. PayPal is betting its comeback on Venmo becoming a real money app and a…
- Keywords: paypal, venmo, fintech, payments, stripe, business, finance, PayPal's, CEO, billion, exit, Pymnts
- Source: Pymnts — https://pymnts.com/consumer-payments/2026/paypals-new-ceo-bets-on-going-it-alone-after-50-billion-buyout-stalls
- Author: PYMNTS
- Published: 2026-09-14T00:52:03+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: paypal, venmo, fintech, payments, stripe, business, finance
## Going it alone
A sale worth more than $50 billion collapsed this summer. CEO Enrique Lores is now building a plan to run PayPal as a stand-alone company, and plenty of investors doubt he can pull it off.
## Fix, launch, cut
The plan has three parts: repair businesses that have struggled for years, ship new features, and cut billions in costs. PayPal has often moved first in payments without ever cashing in on its own ideas.
## Venmo grows up
Lores wants to turn Venmo from a low-profit app into a full money-management tool, with budgeting and investing built in. Crypto trading and the PYUSD stablecoin are part of that push.
## The button lost ground
PayPal's checkout business has slowed as Apple Pay and Google Wallet took over much of the digital wallet market. The fix he wants: a checkout button that is easier to use and more rewarding.
## Sixty dollars, then fifty-three
Stripe and Advent International offered about $60.50 a share this summer and the stock jumped. The two sides could not agree on price, and shares have slid from above $62 back to around $53.

> What we have done is to first look at the strategy that we have, have confidence in the strategy that we have
## Paid to lift the stock
Lores, an HP veteran who took the job in February, earns a $25 million bonus if the stock averages above $68 for 60 days and over $60 million at $125. One analyst calls PayPal a melting ice cube.
## Key takeaway

PayPal is betting its comeback on Venmo becoming a real money app and a checkout button people actually prefer, with no buyer to bail it out.