Adyen vs PayPal: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Adyen reported ~$2.7B of revenue in FY2025 and ~$1.2B of net income. PayPal reported $33.2B of revenue in FY2025 and $5.2B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Adyen
Adyen reported 2025 net revenue of ~$2.67 billion (€2.3642 billion), up 18% year over year, while processed volume reached ~$1.58 trillion (€1.3943 trillion). EBITDA was ~$1.41 billion (€1.2457 billion) and the EBITDA margin was 53%. These measures must be kept distinct: processed volume is the value of payments handled, while net revenue is Adyen's primary top-line KPI after specified pass-through costs.
PayPal
PayPal is large and profitable, but growth has slowed. Revenue climbed from $21.45 billion in 2020 to $33.17 billion in 2025, yet annual growth fell from about 21% to about 4%. Net income reached $5.23 billion in 2025, up from $4.15 billion in 2024. In Q2 2026 revenue rose 5% to $8.68 billion (3% currency-neutral), total payment volume rose 10% to $486.4 billion, transaction margin dollars rose 1% to about $3.9 billion, and non-GAAP EPS was $1.38. Management then raised full-year 2026 non-GAAP EPS guidance to about $5.38 and guided to at least $6 billion of adjusted free cash flow, most of which goes to buybacks. The stock still trades at roughly 10 times earnings, which shows how skeptical investors are about long-term branded checkout growth.
Revenue and profit by year
Adyen
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | ~$2.7B | ~$1.2B | 44.9% | +17.3% | Source |
| FY2024 | ~$2.3B | ~$1B | 45.9% | +23.9% | Source |
| FY2023 | ~$1.8B | ~$789.1M | 42.9% | +22.2% | Source |
| FY2022 | ~$1.5B | ~$637.5M | 42.4% | +32.8% | Source |
| FY2021 | ~$1.1B | ~$530.8M | 46.9% | +46.4% | Source |
| FY2020 | ~$773.1M | — | 0.0% | +37.7% | Source |
| FY2019 | ~$561.6M | — | 0.0% | +42.4% | Source |
| FY2018 | ~$394.3M | — | 0.0% | +60.0% | Source |
| FY2017 | ~$246.3M | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
PayPal
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $33.2B | $5.2B | 15.8% | +4.3% | Source |
| FY2024 | $31.8B | $4.1B | 13.0% | +6.8% | Source |
| FY2023 | $29.8B | $4.2B | 14.3% | +8.2% | Source |
| FY2022 | $27.5B | $2.4B | 8.8% | +8.5% | Source |
| FY2021 | $25.4B | $4.2B | 16.4% | +18.3% | Source |
| FY2020 | $21.5B | $4.2B | 19.6% | +20.7% | Source |
| FY2019 | $17.8B | $2.5B | 13.8% | +15.0% | Source |
| FY2018 | $15.5B | $2.1B | 13.3% | +18.0% | Source |
| FY2017 | $13.1B | $1.8B | 13.7% | +20.8% | Source |
| FY2016 | $10.8B | $1.4B | 12.9% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Adyen
- Settlement fees
Fees tied to payment acquiring and settlement; Adyen does not disclose this as a standalone percentage of net revenue.
- Processing fees
Per-transaction fees for platform services; no audited percentage split is disclosed.
- Other platform and financial-product fees
Includes services for platforms, issuing, accounts, capital, data, and optimization products without a reported percentage split.
PayPal
- Transaction RevenueDominant
Merchant fees and payment-related revenue from branded and unbranded volume.
- Value-Added ServicesMaterial
Interest, credit products, fraud tools, merchant services, and other payments-adjacent products.
- Venmo and Consumer Financial ServicesGrowing
Consumer payment and commerce monetization around Venmo and wallet products.
Business model and strategy
Adyen
How it makes money
Adyen earns net revenue from processing and settlement fees and from other services delivered through its platform. Interchange, scheme fees, and costs from financial institutions are generally passed through and are not the same as Adyen's net revenue. The company reports Digital, Unified Commerce, and Platforms as commercial pillars rather than separate reportable revenue segments.
Growth strategy
Adyen is expanding share of wallet with existing customers, adding local payment and acquiring capabilities, and extending its platform beyond payments. In 2026 it added Talon.One for loyalty and incentives and Orb for usage-based billing, while launching Adyen Agentic and Intelligent Money Movement.
Competitive advantage
Adyen operates gateway, risk, acquiring, payment processing, and financial products through a single technology platform. This structure gives merchants one integration and a unified data view across online and in-person channels.
PayPal
How it makes money
PayPal makes most of its money from transaction revenue: fees merchants pay when customers check out with the PayPal or Venmo button (branded checkout), fees on unbranded card processing through Braintree, and consumer fees such as instant transfers, cross-border and currency conversion charges. Branded checkout carries the highest margin because PayPal controls the customer relationship;
Growth strategy
Under Enrique Lores, PayPal's 2026 plan has three parts. First, restore growth in branded checkout, which rose only about 2% in Q2 2026, by improving conversion, Fastlane guest checkout and agentic or AI-assisted commerce. Second, make Venmo and Braintree pull more weight: Venmo is being pushed into merchant payments and debit cards, while Braintree is priced for profit rather than volume.
Competitive advantage
PayPal's edge is a two-sided network: about 439 million active accounts at the end of 2025 on one side and millions of merchants on the other. Shoppers who already store cards and bank accounts in PayPal can pay without typing details, and merchants add the button because it can lift conversion with those shoppers. Processors such as Stripe and Adyen serve merchants but do not own a consumer wallet of that size.
Questions about Adyen vs PayPal
Which company has higher revenue — Adyen N.V. or PayPal Holdings, Inc.?
Adyen N.V. reported ~$2.7B (FY2025), while PayPal Holdings, Inc. reported $33.2B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, PayPal Holdings, Inc. is the larger business, with Adyen N.V. reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of Adyen N.V. vs PayPal Holdings, Inc.?
Adyen N.V.'s market capitalisation stands at $28.1B, while PayPal Holdings, Inc.'s is $47.0B. PayPal Holdings, Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Adyen N.V..
Which is more financially efficient — Adyen N.V. or PayPal Holdings, Inc.?
Adyen N.V. generates $560k / employee in revenue per employee, while PayPal Holdings, Inc. generates $1.39M / employee. PayPal Holdings, Inc. shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Adyen N.V. and PayPal Holdings, Inc. make money?
Adyen N.V. and PayPal Holdings, Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Adyen N.V.: Adyen earns net revenue from processing and settlement fees and from other services delivered through its platform. PayPal Holdings, Inc.: PayPal makes most of its money from transaction revenue: fees merchants pay when customers check out with the PayPal or Venmo button (branded checkout), fees on unbranded card processing through Braintree, and consumer fees such as instant transfers, cross-border and currency conversion charges.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — Adyen N.V. or PayPal Holdings, Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Adyen N.V. trades at 10.5x P/S and PayPal Holdings, Inc. at 1.4x P/S. Adyen N.V. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to PayPal Holdings, Inc.. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is Adyen N.V. bigger than PayPal Holdings, Inc.?
By last reported revenue, PayPal Holdings, Inc. ($33.2B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Adyen N.V. (~$2.7B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Adyen vs PayPal overview