PayPal: Data leak and takeover rumors rock Wall Street

As the payments sector faces increased competition and slowing growth, PayPal is going through a period of significant turbulence. In the space of a few days, the American company had to confirm a leak of sensitive data while its name was circulating insistently in the corridors of Wall Street as a potential takeover target.

These two opposing dynamics reflect a pivotal moment for the former champion of online payments, which had long benefited from the explosion of e-commerce during the pandemic…

A vulnerability that remained open for six months

The incident concerns the business lending service, PayPal Working Capital. Indeed, as highlighted in an internal document published by Hackread, a poorly executed code modification allowed an unauthorized actor to access personal data between July 1 and December 12, 2025. The vulnerability was only identified in mid-December, and affected customers were notified on February 10, 2026. According to the company, approximately 100 customers are affected, with names, dates of birth, social security numbers, business addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers compromised. In other words, data that could fuel identity theft attempts or targeted phishing, particularly against small business owners.

For its part, PayPal maintains that its systems were not "compromised" in the sense of a massive intrusion, while indicating that it had terminated unauthorized access. Passwords were reset, fraudulent transactions refunded, and two years of credit monitoring via Equifax offered to affected customers.

This incident adds to a series of alerts in recent months, including phishing campaigns, fake payment requests, and the resale of data from infected devices. An accumulation that weakens the platform's image among professionals…

A valuation deemed "undervalued" by analysts

Paradoxically, this turbulent period coincides with a resurgence of speculative interest in the group. According to Bloomberg, banks and several technology players have reportedly expressed "preliminary" interest in all or part of the company.

On the stock market, the share price jumped after these rumors, posting its best session in several months. Analysts believe PayPal is among the few globally recognized payment networks, with nearly 440 million active accounts. This has attracted the interest of giants like Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Meta, who could then strengthen their presence in the payments sector. A takeover, estimated at over $50 billion by some firms, remains hypothetical. But between competitive pressure, a change in leadership, and technical vulnerabilities, PayPal finds itself at a strategic turning point. For investors and users alike, the coming weeks will be crucial…