PayPal Cuts First-Quarter Revenue Outlook on Virus Impact

(Bloomberg) -- PayPal Holdings Inc. cut its forecast for revenue in the first quarter due to the continued impact of the coronavirus.

The payments operator said it expects revenue to be on the lower end of a previously forecast range of $4.78 billion to $4.84 billion. The company reaffirmed its outlook for adjusted earnings of 76 cents to 78 cents a share.

“PayPal’s business trends remain strong; however, international cross-border e-commerce activity has been negatively impacted by COVID-19,” the company said in a statement Thursday. PayPal said it expects the “negative impact from COVID-19” to be about a one percentage-point reduction to revenue growth for the first quarter.

PayPal shares were little changed in morning trading in New York on Thursday. The stock has dropped about 10% in the past week.

Companies have begun lowering forecasts as the deadly virus spreads from China to Europe, the Middle East and the U.S. Federal health officials warned earlier this week that the illness will almost certainly spread in the U.S. and that people should prepare for significant disruptions in daily life, including school closings, cancellations of sporting events, concerts and business meetings.

On Wednesday Microsoft Corp. reduced its quarterly outlook, following Apple Inc. and HP, because of supply-chain disruptions related to the virus. Mastercard Inc. also lowered its forecast for quarterly revenue growth as the virus curbs international travel and takes a bite out of e-commerce.

Anxious investors have driven five consecutive days of stock market losses in the U.S., erasing the benchmark S&P 500 index’s gains for the year.

(Updates with shares in fourth paragraph.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Julie Verhage in New York at jverhage2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Mark Milian at mmilian@bloomberg.net, Molly Schuetz, Alistair Barr

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