Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey addresses students during a town hall at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in New Delhi, India, on November 12, 2018.
Anushree Fadnavis | Reuters
Block shares rose nearly 8% in extended trading after the payments company reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations but saw strong growth in gross profit.
Here’s how Block fared against Refinitiv’s consensus expectations:
- EPS: 22 cents, adjusted, versus expectations of 30 cents
- income: $4.65 billion versus expectations of $4.61 billion
Block reported gross profit of $1.66 billion, up 40% from a year ago. That beat Wall Street expectations of $1.53 billion.
Analysts typically focus on gross profit as a more accurate measure of a company’s core transactional businesses.
The company reported a net (unadjusted) loss of $114 million, or 19 cents per share, for the quarter.
Block, formerly known as Square, told CNBC in a call that the company ended the year with 51 million monthly transactions active for the Cash App in December, averaging two out of three transactions each week.
Its Cash App business posted gross profit of $848 million, up 64% year over year, according to Block. During December 2022, Cash App had 51 million monthly transactions, a 16% year-over-year increase.
The company, led by CEO Jack Dorsey, said its Cash App Card will generate more than $750 million in gross revenue in 2022, up 56% from the previous period.
Its point-of-sale business, Square, saw gross profit grow 22% year over year to $801 million.
Shares of 2023 were up more than 15% before Thursday’s after-hours moves.
Executives will discuss the results on a conference call beginning at 5:00 PM ET.
