PayPal Plummets 7.8% on Surge in $1.61 Billion Trading Volume Jumps to 72nd Most Active Stock

PayPal Holdings (PYPL) fell 7.80% on October 10, 2025, with a trading volume of $1.61 billion—a 34.65% increase from the previous day—ranking 72nd in market activity. The sharp decline followed mixed signals from regulatory developments and macroeconomic uncertainty, though specific catalysts for the selloff remain unconfirmed.

Analysts noted the stock’s volatility reflected broader investor caution in the fintech sector, where earnings reports and central bank policy shifts have historically driven sharp swings. The company’s recent performance has been closely watched amid speculation about its ability to maintain market share in digital payments as competition intensifies.

To evaluate the efficacy of a “Top-500-by-volume, 1-day holding” strategy, key parameters must be defined: the stock universe (e.g., U.S. listed equities or a subset like S&P 500 constituents), weighting methodology (equal-weight vs. dollar-volume-weighted), and assumptions about transaction costs (e.g., bid-ask spreads, commissions). Rebalancing rules—such as executing trades at close or open and liquidating positions the following day—also influence outcomes. A full back-test would require generating daily volume rankings and price data for all stocks in the top-500 list across the period January 3, 2022, to October 10, 2025.

Performance metrics would include annualized returns, volatility, maximum drawdown, and Sharpe ratio, with comparisons to benchmarks like the S&P 500 ETF (SPY). The process involves calculating daily portfolio gains/losses and analyzing equity curves. Final results depend on user-specified inputs for universe scope, weighting, and cost assumptions.