Latest news with #Shopify
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Can PayPal Stock Hit $125 in 2025?
Digital payment giant PayPal's (PYPL) story has been anything but smooth. After soaring in 2020 and carrying the momentum into early 2021, PYPL stock stumbled, ending three consecutive years in the red. While 2024 brought a much-needed rebound, 2025 has seen shares slip once again. Much of PayPal's decline can be traced to rising competition. Newer, faster fintech rivals have outpaced the company with sleeker, more intuitive payment solutions. Still, PayPal isn't going down without a fight. In response, PayPal brought in CEO Alex Chriss in 2023 to reset its strategy. Under his leadership, the company has launched features like one-click and express checkout while sharpening its focus on profitable growth and operational efficiency. Dear Nvidia Stock Fans, Watch This Event Today Closely A $2 Billion Reason to Sell Super Micro Computer Stock Now 3 ETFs Offering Juicy Dividend Yields of 15% or Higher Tired of missing midday reversals? The FREE Barchart Brief newsletter keeps you in the know. Sign up now! PayPal's ever-expanding partner network — featuring giants such as Amazon (AMZN), Shopify (SHOP), Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL), and Meta Platforms (META) — also remains a powerful asset. With Wall Street's highest target pegged at $125 for the stock, can PayPal rally hard enough to hit that mark before the year wraps? PayPal runs a global technology platform that connects merchants and consumers through a dynamic two-sided network. Whether shopping online or in-person, users can pay, get paid, transfer, or withdraw funds using a wide range of options, including bank accounts and cards, PayPal and Venmo balances, cryptocurrency, and more — making digital payments seamless and accessible worldwide. With its market capitalization currently hovering around $71 billion, PayPal remains a major player in the fintech space. However, its stock performance tells a different story. Delivering a 25% return over the past one year, the stock has taken a 14% hit so far in 2025, underperforming the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) by a wide margin, with the benchmark up 4.4% year-to-date (YTD). PYPL stock touched a YTD high of $93.25 in January but has since fallen more than 21% from that peak. Considering its sluggish price action, PayPal now appears to be a potential value play. The stock is trading at just 14 times forward earnings and 2.25 times sales, which is significantly below its five-year averages. For investors hunting for discounted fintech names, PayPal's current valuation could offer an attractive entry point. PayPal delivered its fiscal 2025 first-quarter earnings on April 29. The results were a mixed bag, showing a slight revenue miss but a strong profit beat. Sales rose just 1% year-over-year (YOY) to $7.8 billion, falling short of expectations. However, the company made it clear this was by design. PayPal emphasized its strategic pivot toward profitability, deliberately phasing out lower-margin revenue streams. That shift paid off on the bottom line. Adjusted EPS came in at $1.33, up 23% from a year ago and beating Wall Street estimates by an impressive 15.7% margin. PayPal continued to strengthen its financial footing in Q1, with transaction margin dollars — the company's core profitability metric — rising 7% to $3.7 billion. Active accounts grew 2% YOY to reach 436 million, reflecting steady user engagement. Backed by a strong balance sheet with $15.8 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and investments, PayPal also returned $1.5 billion to shareholders through share repurchases, underscoring its commitment to capital returns. Reflecting on the Q1 performance, Chriss noted, 'PayPal had a great start to the year and our strategy is working. This is our fifth consecutive quarter of profitable growth with progress across branded checkout, PSP, omnichannel, and Venmo.' Looking ahead, PayPal offered a dose of optimism with strong Q2 guidance, projecting adjusted EPS between $1.29 and $1.31, signaling continued momentum on the profitability front. For the full year, the company took a more cautious stance. Citing ongoing global macroeconomic uncertainty, PayPal reaffirmed its earlier guidance, expecting full-year EPS to land between $4.95 and $5.10. By comparison, analysts tracking PayPal project the company's profit to grow 9.3% annually to $5.08 per share in fiscal 2025, followed by an even stronger 11% rise to $5.64 in fiscal 2026. Overall, Wall Street sentiment toward PYPL stock remains cautiously upbeat, with analysts giving it a consensus 'Moderate Buy' rating. Of the 44 analysts offering recommendations, 16 give it a solid 'Strong Buy" rating, two suggest a 'Moderate Buy,' 22 give a 'Hold,' and the remaining four advocate for a 'Strong Sell" rating. PYPL stock's average analyst price target of $79.81 indicates 9% potential upside. But the Street-high target of $125 tells a more bullish story, implying a potential rally of 70% if the company's turnaround strategy hits its stride. On the date of publication, Anushka Mukherji did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on
Buzz Feed
3 hours ago
- Business
- Buzz Feed
Work From Home Salaries 2025
Recently, I asked the BuzzFeed Community if they would anonymously share their salaries with me. Over 1,000 people told me their salaries, and some of them even told me they work remotely/from home. Here are only the salaries from those who work from home, which I think provides a really fascinating snapshot. "I'm the VP of Marketing for a software company working remotely. $250K base, with 25% bonus and equity for future company exit." "$80K. 25 years as a 401(K) administrator at a nationally known company, working from home." "Registered nurse for 17+ years, quality specialist at a not-for-profit hospice, remote work, and I make $87K." "$73K a year. I work as a product designer at an agency specializing in Shopify e-commerce. I have 2–3 years of experience." "$94K. Paralegal in a niche area of real estate. Love that I went from in-person (big law) to remote (small firm) with an 8% bump in base pay. No complaints here." "$700K, staff software engineer at a big tech company." "Key account manager for a major beverage corporation manufacturer. $150K." "I'm a cybersecurity manager for global biotech. $180K base + $100K in stock and bonuses. No degree, but 26 years of experience and lots of certifications." "I am a virtual internal medicine doctor, fully remote. I earn $530K annually." "I am an administrative contracting officer for the US Department of Defense, and I make $122K per year with the best benefits (worth $50K), and unmatched work/life balance. I am also 100% remote. Proud to Serve. USA!" "Senior software engineer, 10 years experience, working remotely at an established start-up, $180K/year plus all the usual benefits." "$42K customer service rep for an insurance advisory firm. 100% remote with a bachelor's degree and an insurance license." "Executive search consultant. I'm in-house with a base of $120K, and my usual bonuses range from $40-85K. Usually, [I make] $185K annually. I'm super specialized and not commission-based." "I'm in IT Support, $90K, 100% remote." "I earn $275K annually, plus long-term incentives as the leader of a small division within a software company." "Customer support operations manager. Remote, $69K salary, no college degree." Finally, "Project manager, $95K. I have a master's, but it's not required." Do you work from home? If so, tell us your salary and how much you make either in the comments or completely anonymously in the Google form below. Your entry may be in an upcoming BuzzFeed Community post.
Time Business News
a day ago
- Business
- Time Business News
How Hiring a Shopify Expert Can Skyrocket Your Store's Sales
Image Source To run an online store goes way beyond a mere website launch and uploading a few product images. Customer expectations are evolving and market competition is getting fierce, making the need for a Shopify store dire. You need a high-converting, fast-loading, and user-friendly storefront that is the apt reflection of your brand. And that's where the right talent enters the plot. Several entrepreneurs choose to start with a DIY approach for their store, there's definitely compelling reasons behind why top-performing eCommerce brands choose to hire Shopify experts to get the edge. These experts do way beyond theme tweaks or app installations, they understand conversion funnels, optimize UX, and integrate advanced analytics to drive real business results. This blog explores how hiring these experts is a profitable and smart investment that you are making to scale your sales. From improving page speed to crafting custom checkout flows, the benefits are far-flung beyond 'design'. Let's take a closer look at them! Tailored store setup for higher conversions A well-designed storefront holds its weight in gold in a customer's decision to purchase. Shopify experts are thorough in tailoring each part of your site, right from the homepage layout to product filtering, to match the browsing behavior of your target audience. Instead of the cookie-cutter templates, they implement the insights about your industry and user to develop a layout that encourages a deeper engagement. This includes custom CTAs, improving the product page UX, and simplifying the checkout process. When you hire expert Shopify developers you are investing in performance design along with paying for aesthetics. You would be startled to know that a significant 70% of the online shopping carts are abandoned due to poor user experience being the lead cause. This is a child's play for a Shopify expert to fix. Speed and mobile performance optimization Speed is of high priority from the viewpoint of SEO as well as keeping users engaged. A delay of even one second in page load speed can result in a 7% drop in conversions. Shopify experts can audit your store to find performance bottlenecks and address them as soon as possible. Whether it's image compression, deferring scripts, or removing bloated apps, these optimizations directly lead to higher sales. Considering that over 70% of eCommerce traffic now comes from mobile, mobile responsiveness is a top concern. When you hire professional Shopify developers they ensure a seamless functioning of your store across all devices – reducing bounce rates and increasing conversions. Mobile performance is a major ranking factor for Google, which is why a Shopify store that is not optimized for mobile can lose traffic and trust. Strategic app integration without the clutter The Shopify app store is massive with over 10,000 apps, making it easy to go overboard. Installing too many apps can slow your store down and cause plugin conflicts. Hiring Shopify experts helps you avoid that by identifying only the necessary tools tailored to your business needs. Whether you require loyalty programs, reviews, upsell features, or abandoned cart recovery, a professional will integrate them in a way that complements and not complicates the customer journey. Tech companies often hire Shopify experts to create custom app solutions or even private apps customized to your internal workflows. For small to medium-sized businesses this means you receive the power of enterprise tools without the enterprise price. Better SEO and Schema Implementation SEO is more than just keyword stuffing—it's about structured data, clean code, image optimization, and user intent. Shopify experts have an understanding of how to implement proper schema markup, URL optimization, enhanced page speed, and SEO practices directly into your store's themes. For even better results, hiring a Shopify expert in combination with a dedicated SEO expert can take your store's visibility to the next level. When you hire an SEO expert, you gain access to specialized strategies tailored to boost organic traffic and drive qualified leads. By improving technical SEO and on-page content, your store can have a higher ranking and attract more organic leads. This is especially vital for stores in competitive niches, and hiring Shopify experts gives you a partner to align your store with Google's expectations – both technical and user-focused. Customized checkout and payment flows One most underrated benefit of hiring a Shopify expert is their ability to customize checkout experiences. When it comes to Shopify Plus users in particular, checkout optimization can drastically increase average order value (AOV) and reduce cart abandonment. Even on Shopify Basic or Advanced, developers can implement post-purchase upsells, auto-fill features, and geolocation-based payment methods all of which can uplift your buyer experience. Data-driven design with analytics in consideration A Shopify store should not only look pleasing but also be set up to measure success. Shopify experts can integrate advanced analytics platforms like Google Analytics 4, Hotjar, or Mixpanel, offering you detailed insights into how users behave on your site. This data assists you in making smart business decisions. For instance, if you know that most users drop off at the cart page, you can implement split testing there. When you hire Shopify developers you get a specialist who understands frontend logic as well as backend data collection. Ongoing support and scalability One-time development and giving up won't cut it in the competitive landscape. Shopify's ecosystem is evolving – whether it's new API capabilities, updated checkout experiences, or theme updates. When you work with a seasoned developer or agency, you don't only get a store – you get a peace of mind. Ongoing support ensures your store stays updated, secure, and scalable. If as a tech company you are planning for growth, hire Shopify experts to iterate and improve without starting from scratch. Having an expert on standby for performance monitoring and making fast changes, can protect you from costly downtime. To run a successful ecommerce store indicates juggling product development, marketing, logistics, and customer service. If you are also considering managing design, code, performance, and security – you will stretch yourself thin. That's why smart hiring managers are hiring Shopify experts to focus on what truly moves the needle. From optimizing page speed and SEO to crafting user journeys and data-driven strategies, Shopify developers bring the kind of diverse skills that directly translate into growing sales. If you are still debating whether to go solo or bring in expert help, look at it through the lens of growth and as a smartest investment you will make this year. Author Bio; For such content and more, feel free to contact Colton Harris He's a highly experienced SEO expert with over 6 years of experience. His extensive knowledge and expertise in the field has helped numerous businesses and individuals to improve their online visibility and traffic. Harris writes and publishes content on business, technology, finance, marketing, and Cryptocurrency-related trends. He is passionate about sharing his knowledge and helping others to grow their online businesses. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
India Today
a day ago
- Business
- India Today
AI does up to 50% of the job at Salesforce, says CEO Marc Benioff
Salesforce is increasingly relying on artificial intelligence to get its work done, with CEO Marc Benioff revealing that AI now accounts for 30 to 50 per cent of the company's operations. In an interview with Bloomberg, Benioff said that people must adjust to a future where AI performs many tasks that were once handled by humans. 'All of us have to get our head around this idea that AI could do things that before we were doing,' he said, calling it a shift toward 'higher-value work'. He described the change as a 'digital labour revolution'.advertisementThe push for AI adoption comes amid a wider trend in the tech industry, where companies are using automation to cut costs and improve productivity. Salesforce itself laid off over 1,000 employees earlier this year as it restructured to focus more on said Salesforce's AI systems are delivering 93 per cent accuracy, although he noted that reaching 100 per cent is 'not realistic'. He added that other vendors struggle with lower accuracy rates because they lack the same amount of training data and metadata. And this is not a trend that is unheard of. Other tech giants are also increasingly using AI to reduce human workload. At a recent earnings call, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said over 30 per cent of new code at the company is now generated by AI. This is up from 25 per cent in October 2024. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella echoed this, noting that 30 per cent of the code at Microsoft is AI-generated, with some projects possibly relying entirely on AI-written CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes the shift will go even further. 'I think sometime in the next 12 to 18 months, we will reach the point where most of these codes that are going towards these efforts [Meta Llama projects] will be written by AI,' he said, claiming that AI is already at the level of a mid-level CEO Dario Amodei recently predicted that within six months, 90 per cent of all code will be written by AI. OpenAI's Sam Altman has made a similar claim, saying that AI already generates about half the code in some like Shopify and Duolingo are going even further by actively replacing human workers with AI. Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn said this week the company would stop using human contractors for jobs that AI can handle. Shopify's CEO Tobias Lutke has told teams to justify new hires by proving that AI cannot do the job. 'Reflexive AI usage is now a baseline expectation at Shopify,' he said. Earlier this month, Meta also said that it plans to replace its human-led product risk assessments in favour of AI-powered at Klarna, which earlier cut nearly half its workforce, CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski warned that AI adoption could lead to a short-term recession due to the displacement of white-collar jobs. 'I don't see how we could avoid that,' he these concerns, some tech leaders argue that AI will create new opportunities. Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, urged young people to embrace AI as a powerful tool that could lead to more valuable and creative tools like Anthropic's Claude are making it easier for individuals to create AI-powered apps without deep technical knowledge. Its latest update allows users to build, host and share apps directly while chatting with Claude, handling the complex parts like scaling, prompt engineering, and API management.- Ends
Time Business News
2 days ago
- Business
- Time Business News
From Setup to Scale: Smarter Business Growth in the UAE
In an age where digital transformation is no longer optional, launching a business in the Middle East—especially in the UAE—offers immense potential. However, navigating through licensing, market entry, digital infrastructure, and online marketing can still be overwhelming for entrepreneurs. That's where Kreative Minds (KM Marketing and PR), a UAE-based consultancy and marketing firm, is rewriting the rules of business support by offering a one-stop, frictionless solution for digital entrepreneurs and eCommerce startups. Based in Dubai and registered with DED, Kreative Minds is not your traditional agency. It operates more like a launchpad—offering everything from free company setup guidance to full-scale digital brand management. The firm provides advisory services for business licensing and market entry, but with a twist: they do not charge any service fee for company formation. Entrepreneurs simply pay the official government fees (e.g., trade license, immigration card, etc.), while KM guides them through the process—step by step. 'Our vision is to democratize access to business launch services, especially for freelancers, startups, and eCommerce sellers,' says Khalid Hussain Mir, founder and Co-CEO of Kreative Minds. 'We don't just hand over a trade license and walk away—we help you build, brand, launch, and grow your digital business.' What sets Kreative Minds apart is its deep integration of business strategy, digital infrastructure, and growth marketing. Clients are guided through the entire journey: Company Formation : Free consultation and setup for Free Zone or Mainland licenses, tailored to the client's business model (including SHAMS, Meydan, RAKEZ, etc.) : Free consultation and setup for Free Zone or Mainland licenses, tailored to the client's business model (including SHAMS, Meydan, RAKEZ, etc.) Ecommerce Setup : From Shopify or WordPress store creation to Amazon/Noon account registration, the firm provides hands-on support. : From Shopify or WordPress store creation to Amazon/Noon account registration, the firm provides hands-on support. Store Management : Ongoing support for product uploads, order management, PPC campaigns, and logistics coordination. : Ongoing support for product uploads, order management, PPC campaigns, and logistics coordination. Digital Marketing : Branding, content, social media, SEO, email marketing, influencer campaigns, and TikTok ad strategy. : Branding, content, social media, SEO, email marketing, influencer campaigns, and TikTok ad strategy. Training & Mentorship: For those new to eCommerce, KM also offers structured guidance to upskill business owners and their teams. Kreative Minds is backed by strategic collaborations with LICN Global Inc. (a U.S. and U.K.-based international consulting and digital solutions group), Peel Technologies (a technology firm registered in Pakistan and the UK), and Urdu AI, an educational initiative in Pakistan that offers free digital and AI training in local languages. These partnerships amplify KM's capability to serve a diverse clientele across South Asia, GCC, and beyond, allowing them to integrate cutting-edge technologies, training content, and regional expertise into their core offerings. Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Kreative Minds is its inclusive approach to entrepreneurship. Whether you're a solopreneur with an idea, a remote worker in transition, or a full-fledged startup team seeking to test new markets in the UAE, KM offers a transparent, affordable, and empowering ecosystem. As governments across the GCC focus on building knowledge-based economies, firms like KM Marketing and PR are essential players in enabling ground-level success. They do not just support businesses—they build a bridge from concept to commerce, making them not just service providers, but long-term partners in growth. If you're considering launching a digital business in the UAE, Kreative Minds might just be the most cost-effective, strategy-rich, and supportive partner you could ask for. In a world full of buzzwords, they're delivering real value—one startup at a time. For inquiries, visit: TIME BUSINESS NEWS
