LULU vs PYPL: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Lululemon Athletica Inc. and PayPal Holdings, Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-07-17.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. · Consumer Cyclical
$116.33
+45.0% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B-
VS
PayPal Holdings, Inc. · Financial Services
$42.51
+45.0% upside to fair value
Grade B
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
LULU |
PYPL |
| Current Price |
$116.33 |
$42.51 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$168.68 |
$61.64 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+45.0%
|
+45.0%
|
| Market Cap |
$13.2B |
$37.5B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
7.7x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
5.3x
|
5.3x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.2x
|
1.1x
|
| Price / FCF |
10.3x
|
6.8x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+4.3%
|
+7.2%
|
| Gross Margin |
55.7%
|
46.1%
|
| Operating Margin |
18.2%
|
17.9%
|
| Return on Equity |
31.3%
|
25.1%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
9.69%
|
14.71%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Hold
|
Sell
|
Investment Thesis
Lululemon Athletica is a premium athletic-apparel retailer whose technical-product innovation, powerful brand, direct-to-consumer retail and e-commerce model, and community-led marketing have historically supported high returns, including a 31.3% ROE, 55.7% gross margin, 18.2% operating margin, and 13.0% net margin. The investment case is now a turnaround rather than a clean compounding story: in…
PayPal Holdings, Inc. operates as a leading global digital payments platform with a competitive moat driven by its extensive network effects, brand recognition, and scale. Despite a durable business model with 2025 revenue of $33.17 billion growing at 4.3% year-over-year and a strong return on equity of 25.1%, the company faces slowing growth and margin pressures, reflected in a 13.5% decline in …
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
LULU |
PYPL |
| Zone Low |
$126.51 |
$46.23 |
| Zone High |
$143.38 |
$52.39 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
Yes
|