Head to head · SEC data as of July 18, 2026
Visa
88
Quality score · out of 100
PayPal
78
Quality score · out of 100
Visa comes in ahead: a quality score of 88 versus 78 for PayPal. Visa wins on net margin (51.7% vs 15%), ROE (62.4% vs 25.3%) and cash generation (FCF) (49.2% vs 16.3%). PayPal doesn't take a single major metric today.
| Metric | Visa | PayPal |
|---|---|---|
| Quality score (0-100) | 88 | 78 |
| Net margin | 51.7% | 15% |
| Gross margin | — | — |
| ROE | 62.4% | 25.3% |
| Net debt/EBITDA | 0.42× | 0.35× |
| FCF margin | 49.2% | 16.3% |
| Revenue growth (annualized) | 13.1% | 9% |
| Earnings growth (annualized) | 13.9% | 8.1% |
TTM metrics with official SEC data, refreshed daily. Bold green marks the winner of each metric. A dash means the metric doesn't apply or isn't reliable.
Visa. Visa runs the world's largest payments network. It doesn't lend money or issue cards: it takes a small fee on every transaction that flows through its network, which gives it very high and stable margins.
PayPal. PayPal is one of the world's most widespread digital-payments platforms: it processes online purchases through its checkout buttons (PayPal, Venmo, Braintree) and takes a fee per transaction. A sector pioneer, it now fights to reignite growth.
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What this comparison doesn't tell you
The score measures business quality, not whether the stock is cheap or expensive: the better company can be the worse investment if you overpay. For the valuation verdict, enter each one's current price in the analyzer:
Who has the stronger fundamentals today, Visa or PayPal?
By the StockSemáforo model (profitability, growth and financial strength, built on official SEC data), Visa scores higher: 88 versus 78 out of 100. The score is recomputed nightly with the latest filings.
Does that make Visa the better investment?
No. The score measures business quality, not valuation: an excellent company can trade at an excessive price and be a poor investment at that price. To find out whether it's cheap or expensive, enter its current quote in the StockSemáforo analyzer.
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Who's behind the methodology and model · how the score is computed
Data: official SEC filings (EDGAR) · Recomputed on July 18, 2026
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