NKE vs PYPL: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of NIKE, Inc. and PayPal Holdings, Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-09-17.
NIKE, Inc. · Consumer Cyclical
$35.78
+9.9% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
VS
PayPal Holdings, Inc. · Financial Services
$52.71
+9.1% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B-
QuantHub Verdict
NKE has more upside to fair value
(+9.9%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
NKE |
PYPL |
| Current Price |
$35.78 |
$52.71 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$39.33 |
$57.50 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+9.9%
|
+9.1%
|
| Market Cap |
$53.0B |
$45.1B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
12.0x
|
6.8x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.1x
|
1.3x
|
| Price / FCF |
24.3x
|
7.2x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
-1.1%
|
+4.8%
|
| Gross Margin |
42.9%
|
45.8%
|
| Operating Margin |
8.2%
|
18.8%
|
| Return on Equity |
22.0%
|
24.4%
|
| Dividend Yield |
4.58% |
1.06% |
| FCF Yield |
4.12%
|
13.97%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Hold
|
Hold
|
Investment Thesis
NIKE designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and equipment through the Nike, Jordan and Converse brands, supported by global athlete marketing, valuable intellectual property and a broad wholesale and owned-digital network. Business quality is medium: its brand moat and 22.0% ROE remain meaningful, but the moat is narrowing amid intense competition, weak direct sales and uneve…
PayPal operates a global digital-payments platform spanning branded checkout, Venmo, Braintree merchant processing, credit products and fraud-risk infrastructure across approximately 200 markets. Business quality is medium: its two-sided network, trusted brand, broad merchant distribution and risk capabilities remain meaningful assets, but its highest-value branded-checkout franchise is under com…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
NKE |
PYPL |
| Zone Low |
$29.50 |
$43.12 |
| Zone High |
$33.43 |
$48.88 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|