Mark Zuckerberg Buying PayPal Could Save Meta '5-10 Years' in Super-App Race Against Elon Musk, Says Hedge Fund Manager
Great Hill Capital Chairman Thomas Hayes suggested Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META ) should acquire PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL ) for $90 billion, stating the deal could save Meta “5-10 years” in building a “WeChat super-app” ahead of Elon Musk ‘s Xmoney. Strategic Advantage Over Xmoney Writing as a PayPal shareholder, Hayes posted his acquisition thesis following a new payment partnership between the two technology companies. Hayes argued that Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg could “beat him to the punch” against Musk, who is currently trying to build Xmoney from the ground up. A $90 billion acquisition price—representing approximately a 7% free cash flow yield—would be “highly accretive immediately” whether structured as a cash, stock, or combination deal. Hayes added that $90 billion is “a price shareholders would accept,” noting a partial stock transaction allows PayPal investors to “participate in additional upside” in what he termed a “win-win” deal. Thinking out loud as a shareholder of $PYPL … The new @PayPal @Meta partnership is interesting for reasons other than Agentic Commerce. $META can/should buy $PYPL for $90B ~7% FCF yield (highly accretive imme
Great Hill Capital Chairman Thomas Hayes suggested Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META ) should acquire PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL ) for $90 billion, stating the deal could save Meta “5-10 years” in building a “WeChat super-app” ahead of Elon Musk ‘s Xmoney. Strategic Advantage Over Xmoney Writing as a PayPal shareholder, Hayes posted his acquisition thesis following a new payment partnership between the two technology companies.
Hayes argued that Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg could “beat him to the punch” against Musk, who is currently trying to build Xmoney from the ground up. A $90 billion acquisition price—representing approximately a 7% free cash flow yield—would be “highly accretive immediately” whether structured as a cash, stock, or combination deal. Hayes added that $90 billion is “a price shareholders would accept,” noting a partial stock transaction allows PayPal investors to “participate in additional upside” in what he termed a “win-win” deal.
Thinking out loud as a shareholder of $PYPL … The new @PayPal @Meta partnership is interesting for reasons other than Agentic Commerce. $META can/should buy $PYPL for $90B ~7% FCF yield (highly accretive immediately — whether cash, stock or combo deal). All of @Meta 's ads -… — Thomas J. Hayes (@HedgeFundTips) September 22, 2026 Read Also: Buying SOFI Is Like Buying 'AMD or Nvidia' at the Bottom: Strategists Highlight Bold Bull Case for SoFi Technologies Data Monetization and Ad Revenue While Meta dominates targeted advertising, Hayes stated that PayPal holds the superior dataset on consumer purchases and intent.
com Inc. ” Under this valuation framework, he estimated the payback period on a $90 billion purchase price would take three to four years. AI Partnership Background and Market Reaction The buyout proposal follows PayPal’s announcement of a partnership with Meta to enable customers to shop and check out using Muse, Meta’s personal AI agent, across PayPal’s global merchant base. The arrangement expands an existing relationship through Meta Pay, where users link accounts via Meta’s Accounts Center and set default payment methods such as PayPal Balance or PayPal Credit.
How Has PYPL Performed in 2026? 15% higher in premarket on Wednesday. 07% over the last month. 89 on Tuesday.
Edge Stock Rankings indicate that PYPL maintains a weak price trend in the short and long terms but a strong trend in the medium term, with a poor growth score. Read Also: Eli Lilly Could Be a ‘$2,000 Stock’ in the Next 3 to 4 Years, Says Home Depot Co-Founder Ken Langone Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published editors. Image via Shutterstock