Morning Brew Daily PayPal is Crashing Out & Pepsi Slashes Snack Prices for Super Bowl
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Feb 4, 2026 A tense corporate clash over a stalled AI chip deal and the ripple effects on big tech. A major payments company tumbles, prompting leadership change. A food giant slashes snack prices to win back shoppers. Rome introduces a small fee to curb tourism at a famous fountain. A retail behemoth crosses a trillion-dollar market cap milestone.
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Branded Checkout Growth Has Stalled
- PayPal's branded checkout business, once a high-margin engine, has essentially flattened with near-zero growth this quarter.
- That stagnation helps explain the stock collapse and the urgent need for a strategic turnaround.
Spending Slowdown Hits Payments Hard
- Macroeconomic weakness and declining retail spending are directly shrinking payment processors' transaction volumes.
- PayPal's execution issues compound macro headwinds and leave little room for error.
Former CEO's Public Postmortem
- David Marcus publicly criticized PayPal leadership for shifting from product-led to financially-led decision making.
- He blamed late moves on buy-now-pay-later and conservative product choices for the company's decline.