PayPal COO Responds to Company's Break-Up with eBay
PayPal posted better-than-expected results, but news that eBay is abandoning the company in favor of a smaller European competitor caused the stock to fall. Bill Ready, COO of PayPal, joined us to explain why he thinks investors are misunderstanding the news.
Ready says PayPal will retain a majority of eBay’s volume with the deal it did for PayPal branded checkout. He also said the primary part of PayPal's business was actually expanded with eBay. Ready added that investors may be getting it wrong because this kind of news takes time to digest.
EBay explained that its decision to integrate Adyen's payment processor would result in lower costs and more control for its merchants. Ready responded by highlighting all the long-term partnerships the company has with Airbnb, Facebook, Google, Apple, and Uber.
Venmo has been a solid source of growth for PayPal, processing $10.4 billion in payments in just the fourth quarter. Ready said that now more than 2 million retailers are able to accept payments from Venmo. Many people have said Apple Pay Cash is going to be a Venmo-killer. Ready said the rush of competitors into the digital payments space hasn't stopped Venmo's business from accelerating.
The national average for a gallon of gas is closing in on $5 dollars per gallon and it's putting pressure on already strained budgets. The summer travel season could stall out before it even gets started. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier has some great hacks to help you save a few bucks at the pump.
Lower Manhattan's iconic Stone Street is getting a bubbly makeover. Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte will be 'unleashing the bubbles' throughout the month of June in New York City, with themed events, bubble ball pits, and special menu and drink experiences. Anne-Laure Domenichini, director of communications for Champagne Nicholas Feuillatte, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer for the Human Rights Foundation, joins Closing Bell, where he explains where tech experts are getting it wrong when they call crypto risky and unproven. He also stresses the importance of crypto and points to how Ukraine was able to use Bitcoin during the onset of the Russian invasion.
API platform RapidAPI recently became a unicorn with a $1 billion valuation after raising $150 million in a Series D funding round led by Softbank Vision Two Fund. Microsoft's Venture Fund, M12, and Andreessen Horowitz also participated. RapidAPI says it provides the world's largest API hub which enables millions of developers and companies to build software faster. Iddo Gino, founder and CEO of RapidAPI, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The PGA Tour has announced that it will suspend players that are competing in the LIV Golf event that teed off today. At least 17 players, including names like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Sergio Garcia are banned from the PGA Tour competition. Hilary Fordwich, a business analyst and golf expert, joined Cheddar News to discuss why the PGA had to go this route. This is a threat to the future of golf for them, and there's been many contentions about them not being fair and that this is vindictive," she said. "Don't forget, of course, they represent sort of a monopoly in the history of golf. So you've got two sides to this story. You've got those the purists, those that feel that golf should only be a certain way and that there are only these limited events that the PGA puts on. And then you've got other people who are saying … this is all about money"
Facebook parent Meta officially has changed it’s ticker symbol from ‘FB’ to ‘META’. Paul Meeks, a portfolio manager, Independent Solutions Wealth Management, and a professor of practice in the Baker School of Business at The Citadel, joined Cheddar News to discuss why the tech giant has had to make big changes to its name, its ticker, and its business plans. "When you see what's happening in digital advertising — and there was a slowdown there even before the threat of a recession, which could cause a even more drastic slowdown next year — they had to pivot," he said. Meeks noted he sees Facebook dominating in the metaverse space going forward — whatever that may end up being.
Sports merchandising company Fanatics announced it will be making trading cards featuring college athletes, a deal made possible by the NCAA's change to NIL rules for its players. Anchors Kristen Scholer and Ken Buffa break down the deal for Cheddar.
