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Buy 5 Mobile Payments Stocks and Hold for Long Term to Reap Benefits

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Key Takeaways

  • Digital payments growth is fueled by rising smartphone use and demand for convenience and security.
  • PayPal, JPMorgan, Intuit, ACI Worldwide, and Remitly gain from innovation and expanding customer bases.
  • AI, cloud services, and omni-channel payment solutions enhance these companies' long-term prospects.

The rapid shift from cash to digital transactions, driven by a push toward convenience and security, has led to meteoric growth in mobile payments. The space encompasses a broad spectrum of innovations, including payment infrastructure and software services, as well as virtual wallets and smartcards. As the adoption of digital payment becomes commonplace, the mobile payments market is anticipated to experience meteoric growth.

At this stage, we recommend five mobile payments stocks to buy and hold for the long term to strengthen your portfolio. These are: PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL - Free Report) , JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM - Free Report) , Intuit Inc. (INTU - Free Report) , ACI Worldwide Inc. (ACIW - Free Report) and Remitly Global Inc. (RELY - Free Report) . Each of our picks currently carries either a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Mobile Payments Space Provides a Long-Term Opportunity

A higher Internet penetration rate and increased usage of smartphones contribute to the increased uptake of digital payments. Whether paying for lunch, groceries, or high-end products and services, mobile payments are transforming everyday transactions. In light of the prevailing scenario, it has become inevitable to build an enhanced contactless payments suite or upgrade the existing ones.

Owing to the long-term benefits that such investments provide, the industry players have come up with diversified contactless payment options such as mobile wallets, biometrics and QR codes. Such initiatives will enable the players to solidify their presence in the global digital payments market, boost their customer base and diversify income streams.

This convergence of digital solutions and physical transactions has reshaped the e-commerce and online purchase landscape. Enhanced by 5G, contactless payments are becoming the norm, allowing companies in this space to offer faster, more secure transactions. 

This high-growth segment capitalizes on a future where the digital wallet and mobile-first systems dominate. Companies leading this change in payment processing and infrastructure are set to benefit immensely from the ongoing global shift to cashless solutions.

The chart below shows the price performance of our five picks in the past month.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

PayPal Holdings Inc.

Zacks Rank #2 PayPal Holdings is benefiting from robust growth in total payment volume. Strengthening customer engagement on PYPL’s platform is a major positive. Venmo’s improving monetization efforts and rising adoption rate across various platforms are aiding total active accounts growth. 

The solid momentum of core peer-to-peer and PayPal Checkout experiences is a tailwind. Well-performing merchant services are also a positive. Strengthening presence in both the United States and international markets is contributing well. Accelerating transaction revenues of PYPL are likely to continue driving the top line.

PayPal is significantly leveraging AI across its platform to enhance fraud detection, personalized experience and operational efficiency. PYPL’s agentic AI ecosystem enables the company to simplify and streamline integration across all its services. 

PayPal Holdings has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 4% and 12%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current-year earnings has improved 2.6% in the last 30 days.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Zacks Rank #1 JPMorgan Chase’s business expansion initiatives, loan demand and relatively high interest rates should drive net interest income (NII) growth. We project NII to witness a CAGR of 2.9% by 2027. 

While normal deal-making activity is tied to the health of the economy, JPM’s solid pipeline and leadership have generated continued growth in the investment banking business thus far.

A solid pipeline and market leadership continue to support investment banking (IB) business, though capital markets volatility and high mortgage rates will likely weigh on fee income. JPM emphasized the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in boosting efficiency and noted that its technology budget is $18 billion this year, up roughly 6% from last year.

JPMorgan Chase has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of -0.2% and -1.3%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.3% in the last seven days.

Intuit Inc.

Zacks Rank #2 Intuit has been benefiting from steady revenues from the Online Ecosystem and Desktop business segments. INTU’s strong momentum in Online Services revenues is driven by the solid performance of Mailchimp, payroll and Money, which includes payments, capital and bill pay.

Intuit’s generative AI-powered "Intuit Assist," provides a financial assistant, enabling personalized insights and recommendations, integrated into products like TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp, aiming to fuel small business and personal financial success.

INTU’s Credit Karma business is benefiting from strength in Credit Karma Money, credit cards, auto insurance and personal loans. INTU’s strategy of shifting its business to a cloud-based subscription model will help generate stable revenues over the long run. Cloud is a flourishing part of the technology space and has been gaining momentum in recent years.

Intuit has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 11.7% and 13.7%, respectively, for the current year (ending July 2026). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 4.3% over the last 90 days. 

ACI Worldwide Inc.

Zacks Rank #2 ACI Worldwide develops, markets, installs, and supports a range of software products and solutions for facilitating digital payments in the United States and internationally. ACIW operates in three segments: Banks, Merchants, and Billers.

ACIW powers electronic payments for more than 5,000 organizations around the world. More than 1,000 of the largest financial institutions and intermediaries as well as 300 of the leading global retailers rely on ACIW to execute $14 trillion each day in payments. Further, thousands of organizations utilize our electronic bill presentment and payment services.

Through its comprehensive suite of software and SaaS-based solutions, ACIW delivers real-time, any-to-any payment capabilities and gives the industry's most complete omni-channel payments experience. 

ACI Worldwide has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 8% and 7.6%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.4% in the last 30 days. 

Remitly Global Inc.

Zacks Rank #1 Remitly Global is engaged in the provision of digital financial services in the United States, Canada, and internationally. RELY is a mobile-first provider of remittances and financial services for immigrants. RELY offers cross-border remittances and complementary financial services through mobile application and website.

Remitly Global has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 27.9% and more than 100%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 25% in the last seven days. 

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