Topic: How To Invest

What is Pat’s commentary for the week of July 23, 2024

Article Excerpt

On July 1, 2015, due to pressure from billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn, online auction firm eBay split off its electronic-payment business, PayPal, as a separate firm. Investors received one PayPal share for each eBay share they held. After the spinoff, eBay rose from a low of $25 in 2015/2016, to a peak of $81 in 2021. PayPal rose from $30 in 2015 to a peak of $310 in 2021. In 2021, both stocks began to sink, along with the market. PayPal hit a low near $50 last fall; eBay hit a series of lows below $40. We think both stocks could rise substantially over the remainder of this decade and beyond, due to their capabilities in technology plus national and international finance. eBay has gone through big changes over the last couple of years, spurred first by pressure from activist investors, then by COVID-19. Those changes include shedding its less-important businesses and investing more in its main auction sites. The company is…