Feb 4 (Reuters) - PayPal ( PYPL ) forecast full-year

profit above estimates on Tuesday, fueled by the digital

payments giant's push to revive growth in branded products,

improve pricing and sharpen cost-cutting efforts.

Since taking over in late 2023, PayPal ( PYPL ) CEO Alex Chriss has

focused on high-margin products and touted 'profitable growth'

as the company's new strategy. PayPal ( PYPL ) has since revamped its

pricing approach and shifted away from chasing revenue

acceleration.

The upbeat outlook will likely ease investor worries about

increasing competition from big-tech giants and fintech rivals

such as Block in the digital payments sector.

PayPal ( PYPL ) has worked to defend its dominant position with new

products, including a "one-click" checkout feature called

Fastlane, and forged lucrative partnerships with companies such

as Global Payments ( GPN ) and Fiserv ( FI ).

Transaction margin dollars, a key measure of the

profitability of its core business, increased 7% for the full

year.

"The improvements we made to branded checkout, peer-to-peer,

and Venmo, plus the progress we made on our price-to-value

strategy, are beginning to show up in our results," Chriss said.

PayPal ( PYPL ) expects full-year adjusted profit to grow between

$4.95 and $5.10 per share, surpassing Wall Street views of $4.90

according to estimates compiled by LSEG.

It expects transaction margin dollars to grow between 4% and

5% in 2025.

SPENDING RESILIENT DESPITE CHALLENGES

Stronger margins and profitability in branded checkout

products, which includes PayPal's ( PYPL ) core payment services,

headlined 2024 for the payments company after years of uneven

results.

Consumer spending has also remained resilient as Americans

brush off concerns over high interest rates and shrinking

savings, splurging on everything from travel to online shopping.

Analysts and investors are optimistic about the outlook for

the payments sector this year, though the recent imposition of

tariffs by the U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on

China are seen as potentially inflationary.

For the first quarter, PayPal ( PYPL ) expects to post an adjusted

profit in the range $1.15 to $1.17 per share, above expectations

of $1.14.

The holiday season also lured shoppers as retailers offered

deep discounts on Christmas, Thanksgiving, Black Friday and

Cyber Monday.

PayPal's ( PYPL ) net revenue increased 4% to $8.4 billion in the

fourth quarter ended Dec. 31. Total payment volume climbed 7%,

mirroring results at traditional card networks - Visa and

Mastercard ( MA ).

It posted a fourth-quarter adjusted profit of $1.19, topping

estimates of $1.12.

PayPal's ( PYPL ) shares surged nearly 40% in 2024, outperforming

broader markets and ending three years of consecutive annual

declines.