PayPal hires HP’s Enrique Lores as its new CEO

PayPal said on Tuesday that it is appointing Enrique Lores, the current chief executive of HP, as its new CEO and president, replacing outgoing chief executive Alex Chriss. Lores, who has served as chair of PayPal’s board since July 2024, will also assume the role of president when he takes over leadership of the company.

PayPal said the decision to make the leadership change was driven by concerns that the company’s pace of transformation and execution was “not in line with the Board’s expectations,” particularly in light of broader shifts taking place across the global payments and technology markets.

Chriss joined PayPal in September 2023 after coming over from Intuit, succeeding longtime CEO Dan Schulman. Until Lores formally joins the company, PayPal’s chief financial officer and chief operating officer, Jamie Miller, will serve as interim CEO.

The leadership announcement coincided with PayPal’s release of its fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday, which came in below market expectations. The company reported weaker-than-expected revenue and profit as consumer spending slowed amid a broader cost-of-living squeeze and a softening labour market. PayPal also issued guidance forecasting a decline in full-year profit, catching investors off guard, as analysts on Wall Street had anticipated mainly growth.

Following the earnings report and leadership news, PayPal shares fell roughly 17.9% in premarket trading on Tuesday.

Lores, who spent more than six years as president and CEO of HP, said that, in addition to focusing on product innovation, PayPal, under his leadership, would place greater emphasis on accountability and consistent financial performance, including delivering on quarterly results.

“The payments industry is changing faster than ever, driven by new technologies, evolving regulations, an increasingly competitive landscape, and the rapid acceleration of AI that is reshaping commerce daily,” Lores said in a statement. “PayPal sits at the centre of this change, and I look forward to leading the team to accelerate the delivery of innovations and to shape the future of digital payments and commerce.”