PayPal quarterly profit falls but beats estimates

NEW YORK (Reuters) - PayPal Holdings Inc on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter profit that beat analysts' estimates, but its revenue outlook for the first three months of 2019 fell short of expectations, sending its shares down more than 5 percent after hours.

Excluding one-time items, the digital payments company earned 69 cents per share, beating the average analyst estimate of 67 cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Net income fell to $584 million, or 49 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, from $620 million, or 50 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose to $4.23 billion from $3.74 billion.

For the first quarter, PayPal said it expects revenue between $4.08 billion and $4.13 billion, falling short of analysts' average $4.16 billion estimate. The company reaffirmed its revenue outlook for the full year.

 

(Reporting by Anna Irrera; Editing by David Gregorio)