PYPL drawdown: 81.8% below the all-time high
PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL) is 81.8% below its all-time high, set Jul 23, 2021 (as of market close, Jul 24, 2026). The chart shows every day as a percentage of the highest level reached up to that point: 100% means a fresh record, everything below is a drawdown. "All-time" means since our price data begins (2015).
- Below all-time high
- −81.8%
- 18.2% of ATH
- All-time high
- $308.5
- Jul 23, 2021
- Time below the high
- 5.0 yrs
- since Jul 23, 2021
- Worst-ever drawdown
- −87.3%
- Feb 12, 2026
- Longest underwater
- 5.0 yrs
- between all-time highs
- Today's level first reached
- Jul 12, 2017
- 9.0 yrs ago
- Last time this deep
- never before
- no prior −81.8% episode
% of all-time high since 2015#
The classic underwater chart (drawdown curve), drawn as % of the all-time high — 100% is a fresh record, everything below it is time spent underwater.
% of all-time high on the price basis — the all-time high considers the full history of PYPL, including years before the visible window. Dividends are excluded on this basis (the convention headlines use).
The deepest drawdowns on record#
Every decline of 15% or more from an all-time high (price basis), deepest first.
| Peak | Trough | Depth | Peak → trough | Recovered by | Underwater |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 23, 2021 | Feb 12, 2026 | −87.3% | 4.6 yrs | not yet | 5.0 yrs+ |
| Feb 19, 2020 | Mar 23, 2020 | −31.2% | 33 days | May 5, 2020 | 2 mo |
| Feb 16, 2021 | Mar 8, 2021 | −25.8% | 20 days | Jul 23, 2021 | 5 mo |
| Jul 20, 2015 | Sep 29, 2015 | −24.3% | 2 mo | Mar 21, 2016 | 8 mo |
| Jul 24, 2019 | Oct 23, 2019 | −20.3% | 3 mo | Feb 14, 2020 | 7 mo |
| Sep 4, 2018 | Oct 10, 2018 | −18.9% | 36 days | Jan 25, 2019 | 5 mo |
| Mar 22, 2016 | Jun 27, 2016 | −17.2% | 3 mo | Oct 21, 2016 | 7 mo |
| Sep 2, 2020 | Sep 17, 2020 | −16.6% | 15 days | Oct 21, 2020 | 49 days |
Price basis (no dividends) — the convention crash histories use. With dividends reinvested, recoveries arrive years earlier; switch the basis on the chart above to see it.
Drawdown vs what came next#
One dot per month since 2015: how far PYPL stood below its all-time high, and the total return over the following 1, 5 and 10 years.
Read this with survivorship bias in mind: PYPL is on this chart precisely because it survived — the many stocks that fell this far and never recovered (or were delisted) aren't on anyone's chart, so past recoveries here say little about the odds ahead. Monthly windows also overlap heavily (they are not independent samples). Not investment advice.
FAQ
- How far is PYPL from its all-time high?
- PYPL is currently 81.8% below its all-time high, set Jul 23, 2021 (as of market close, Jul 24, 2026). Prices only, the convention headlines use; with dividends reinvested the gap is usually smaller.
- What was the biggest PYPL drawdown ever?
- The deepest decline on record in our data (since 2015) took the stock 87.3% below its prior high, bottoming Feb 12, 2026. The table on this page lists every major episode with its peak, trough and recovery date.
Methodology & related#
Daily closing prices since 2015 (split-adjusted). "All-time" means since our price data begins — PYPL may have traded earlier. For a 150-year index drawdown record see the S&P 500 drawdown page. The price basis excludes dividends; the total-return basis reinvests them; the real basis additionally deflates by CPI. See also returns by year, 150 years of returns and the rolling-returns explorer. Past performance does not predict future returns; not investment advice.