Big Tech Regulator Donalds Invests in Netflix and PayPal
Rep. Byron Donalds (R–FL) disclosed that he purchased shares of streaming leader Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) and fintech heavyweight PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ: PYPL) on two occasions each in mid-March, investing between $1,001 and $15,000 per transaction (roughly ₩1.5 million to ₩22 million at the day’s exchange rate). As a member of the House Financial Services Committee—where he oversees digital assets and fintech—and an outspoken advocate of Big Tech regulation, Donalds’s investments in these core industry stocks have reignited conflict-of-interest concerns.
According to public filings under the STOCK Act, Donalds executed two purchases of PayPal stock on March 13 and two purchases of Netflix common shares on March 20, each in the $1,001–$15,000 range. In aggregate, he could have invested up to $30,000 per company (about ₩44 million). The transactions were reported via a notice on April 1 and a formal trading report on April 8. Donalds, who also serves on the Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Reform, has participated in hearings on digital assets, fintech, and Big Tech regulation. He has received significant political contributions from the financial, insurance, and real estate sectors, and has recently led legislation favorable to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies—raising criticism that he is too closely aligned with regulated stakeholders.
Netflix’s stock jumped nearly 30% in early March after the company stepped back from pursuing Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio assets at the end of January. By March 20, shares settled around $91, marking a temporary pause. Instead of the Warner deal, Netflix has since focused on expanding its original content, sports broadcasting, and advertising businesses, and announced a U.S. subscription-price increase in March. This combination helped the stock recover into the high-$90s by late March and early April, fueling a debate over whether shares are overvalued or still carry strong growth momentum.
PayPal, meanwhile, entered a deep correction phase after its early-February earnings revealed a slowdown in core payment growth and lackluster guidance for 2026, compounded by news of an incoming CEO transition. The stock plunged 16–18% in a single day to near $40, then traded around $44 on March 13. Investors remain split between viewing PayPal as an undervalued value play and seeing it as a structurally challenged growth stock—given uncertainties around fee hikes, U.S. and European regulation of stablecoins and fintech fees, and ongoing M&A rumors.
Donalds’s direct investments in Netflix and PayPal—on top of his public bitcoin holdings and pro-crypto legislative efforts—add new high-profile companies to longstanding conflict-of-interest debates. With bipartisan proposals in Congress to ban lawmakers from trading individual stocks and widespread public support for such measures, even transactions that comply with current law can heighten regulatory risks and political scrutiny.