PayPal CEO's first year was praised by Wall Street, but hard part starts now for struggling payments company

PayPal stock jumped 34% in the third quarter , its best quarterly performance since 2020 .

CEO Alex Chriss hit his one-year anniversary at the helm on Friday .

Chriss' early success has been tied to improved transaction margins and better monetization of key acquisitions like Braintree .

Analysts are projecting roughly 6% revenue growth when PayPal reports third quarter results.

Chriss: "We have done too many acquisitions over the last few years , and we've been defocused" Chriss says the company has narrowed down its priorities to five key things, "all focused on profitable growth" Getting competitive at the point-of-sale is another big priority for PayPal .

The company launched a national campaign last month for PayPal Everywhere .

PayPal CEO Chriss calls SMBs an "untapped opportunity for us" PayPal 's stock remains about 75% below its record high.

PayPal 's market cap has been lifted by over $20 billion in the year since Chriss started.

Chriss: "Our teams are moving with urgency, excited about innovation and focused on execution".