PayPal used its second-quarter earnings call to leave the door open to a sale, weeks after Stripe's roughly $53 billion approach, with CEO Enrique Lores declining to comment on speculation and saying the board will carefully consider any lever that creates superior value for shareholders. Revenue reached $8.68 billion, up 5% and ahead of the $8.51 billion analysts expected, though earnings per share of $1.25 missed the $1.28 consensus. PayPal raised full-year guidance to $5.38 per share and no longer expects revenue to fall in the low single digits. Branded checkout volume, the operating metric behind PayPal's slump, grew just 2% against 5% a year earlier. Lores is also winding down PayPal Ventures, the corporate venture arm that has backed more than 80 companies including Plaid, with a sale or shutdown both on the table.
