By Evie Liu

PayPal stock rose on Friday after a report said that the payments company is in negotiations to sell itself to Stripe and private-equity firm Advent International, with the potential buyers discussing a higher price than their previous offer.

Stripe and Advent offered $60.50 a share for PayPal in a July deal that would value the fintech company at around $53 billion, but PayPal considered the bid too low, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The two sides have since been discussing a potentially higher price, according to the report.

PayPal declined to comment. Stripe and Advent did not immediately respond to Barron's request for comment.

PayPal shares gained 1.8% to close at $61.66 on Friday, giving the company a market value of about $54 billion. It was largely flat in after-hours trading.

The reported talks come as CEO Enrique Lores continues to work on turning PayPal around. PayPal warned in February that full-year profit would fall short of expectations. Since taking over in March, Lores has reorganized PayPal's business, cut costs, and increased its focus on artificial intelligence.

Recent results have offered some signs of progress. Second-quarter revenue rose 5% to $8.68 billion, beating expectations, while PayPal raised its profitability outlook. The company has highlighted growth in its Venmo and Braintree businesses, as well as its debit-card and buy-now-pay-later services.

PayPal stock nevertheless remains far below its pandemic-era heights. Shares topped $300 in 2021, when the company was valued at more than $280 billion. Before reports of Stripe and Advent's $60.50-a-share offer emerged in July, PayPal was worth only about $40 billion.

Write to Evie Liu at evie.liu@barrons.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 14, 2026 17:32 ET (21:32 GMT)