PayPal Taps HP Chief Enrique Lores for CEO Role in Major Shake-Up

SAN JOSE, CA – February 03, 2026 – PayPal Holdings Inc. today announced a dramatic leadership overhaul, appointing HP Inc. CEO Enrique Lores as its next President and CEO in a bid to revitalize the fintech giant amid slowing growth and intense competition. The move ousts CEO Alex Chriss after just 16 months, a decision the board attributed to a "pace of change and execution" that was "not in line with the Board's expectations."

The change, effective March 1, 2026, comes as PayPal grapples with significant challenges, including disappointing financial results and a stock price that has languished. The board is betting that Lores, a seasoned executive known for leading complex corporate transformations, can inject a new sense of urgency and operational discipline into the payments pioneer.

"Enrique is widely recognized as a visionary leader who prioritizes customer-centric innovation with demonstrable impact," said David W. Dorman, who was appointed as the new Independent Board Chair. "His strong track record leading complex transformations and disciplined execution on a global basis will ensure PayPal maintains its leadership of the dynamic payments industry now and into the future."

A Verdict on 'Too Slow' Execution

The board's terse statement that the pace of change was not meeting expectations points to significant internal dissatisfaction with the company's trajectory under Alex Chriss. While Chriss was praised for his customer-first mindset and progress in modernizing PayPal's platform, the financial results told a story of stagnation and missed opportunities.

The shake-up coincided with the release of disappointing fourth-quarter 2025 earnings and a bleak outlook for 2026. The company missed analyst forecasts for both revenue and earnings per share, and its guidance for the coming year projected that non-GAAP EPS could decline or show only a slight increase, far below the nearly 8% growth analysts had anticipated.

A critical factor in the board's decision was the alarming slowdown in PayPal's core branded checkout business, which contributes roughly half of the company's profits. Growth in this vital segment decelerated to just 1% in the fourth quarter, a sharp fall from 5% in the previous quarter. In a call with analysts, Interim CEO Jamie Miller, who will lead the company until Lores takes over, was blunt in her assessment. "Our execution has not been what it needs to be," she stated, acknowledging that the branded checkout performance was a key area of concern and that operational issues had slowed deployment.

During Chriss's tenure, sales and marketing expenses reportedly rose by 30%, but this increased spending failed to reignite the double-digit revenue and profit growth that investors had come to expect from the fintech leader.

Enter the 'Turnaround Specialist'

In turning to Enrique Lores, PayPal's board has selected a leader with a starkly different profile. Lores is an HP veteran, having started as an engineering intern 36 years ago and rising through the ranks to become CEO in 2019. He is widely credited with steering the legacy technology firm through a period of profound change.

At HP, Lores was the architect of the "Future Ready" plan, a strategy focused on transforming the company's cost structure, simplifying its operations, and investing in growth areas. He successfully expanded the business beyond its traditional PC and printing roots, pushing into more profitable services, subscriptions, and emerging AI-enabled offerings. His leadership was tested by global supply chain shocks and a hostile takeover attempt by Xerox in 2020, challenges he successfully navigated while strengthening the company's operating discipline.

Lores's experience in transforming a massive, complex organization and his focus on AI are seen as directly applicable to PayPal's current predicament. He is viewed as a turnaround specialist who can bring the financial and operational rigor needed to improve profitability and shareholder returns.

"We will further strengthen the culture of innovation necessary to deliver long-term transformation and balance this with near-term delivery, executing with greater speed and precision," Lores said in the official announcement. He acknowledged the immense challenge ahead, citing the rapid pace of change driven by new technologies and a fiercely competitive landscape.

A Crowded Battlefield Reshaped by AI

The urgency behind PayPal's leadership change reflects the precarious position the company occupies. Once the undisputed disruptor in payments, PayPal now faces an onslaught of competition from multiple fronts. Newer, more developer-friendly fintech platforms like Stripe and Block's Square have aggressively captured market share, particularly among online merchants. Meanwhile, tech behemoths like Apple and Google continue to leverage their massive ecosystems to expand their own payment services, embedding them seamlessly into the daily lives of billions of users.

The rapid acceleration of Artificial Intelligence is further reshaping the commerce landscape, creating both a threat and an opportunity. Lores's background in pushing HP toward AI-enabled solutions is a key reason for his appointment, as PayPal seeks to leverage its vast trove of data to enhance security, personalize customer experiences, and create new services.

"The payments industry is changing faster than ever, driven by new technologies, evolving regulations, an increasingly competitive landscape, and the rapid acceleration of AI that is reshaping commerce daily," Lores stated. "PayPal sits at the center of this change, and I look forward to leading the team to accelerate the delivery of new innovations."

Wall Street's Harsh Judgment

Investors reacted to the news with immediate skepticism, sending PayPal's stock (PYPL) tumbling nearly 18% in premarket trading. The sharp decline was fueled not only by the leadership turmoil but also by the weak financial results and guidance that accompanied it. Analysts described the fourth quarter as a "broad-based miss," highlighting lower-than-expected transaction revenue and payment volumes coupled with climbing expenses.

The market's severe reaction underscores the immense pressure Lores will face. Some analysts have already labeled his appointment as a move to bring in a "Shareholder Return mercenary"—a leader focused more on financial engineering, cost-cutting, and stock buybacks than on ambitious, top-line growth initiatives. This sentiment reflects a growing investor demand for profitability and efficiency over growth at any cost.

The board's decisive action, installing Lores and elevating long-time director David W. Dorman to Independent Board Chair, signals a clear mandate. The era of patience is over, and the new leadership team is expected to deliver results with the speed and precision that the board found lacking, a formidable task in a market that offers no quarter to incumbents that which stands still.