October 17, 2017
PayPal (PYPL: $67, $80 billion market cap) and American Express ($92, $81 billion market cap) are running together in the market cap race of the new age. This is a fight between new age vs. old age. Haha. Both are at all-time highs, with PayPal at $69 set in October, and American Express at $93 set in 2014.
We aren’t gamblers, but we have our money on PayPal. After all, PayPal was at $40 in January.
And here’s some good news: Venmo users can now shop online anywhere PayPal is accepted in the U.S.
PayPal announced its mobile payments service Venmo is now available at over 2 million online U.S retailers, allowing Venmo users to shop on the mobile web at almost everywhere PayPal is accepted today. This includes popular retailers like Lululemon, Forever21 and Foot Locker via the mobile web, the company says.
As with PayPal, eligible purchases bought using Venmo online will qualify for purchase protection, too. For example, consumers can request a full refund if they don't receive an item or if it's significantly different than described. [This is big news.]
“Offering a way to pay at millions of retailers is a major step in the evolution of Venmo,” said the Chief Operating Officer of PayPal, in a statement. “Our vision for Venmo is to not only be the go-to app for payments between friends, but also a ubiquitous digital wallet that helps consumers spend wherever and however they want to pay, regardless of device,” he added.
BMR Take: This is big news. You may have never heard of Venmo, but ask any 30-something. That’s all they use. Adding 2 million retailers to the list of companies accepting this payment method is a big deal in our book. We think this is just the tip of the iceberg for this great company and expect bigger and better things in the coming years. We added the stock at $31 early last year and our Target Price has been $66 for a while but with the stock at $67 it is time to take the next step on this fantastic ladder of growth. We hereby raise our Target to $77. We are leaving our Sell Price the same at: We would not sell PayPal.