Block stocks fall after hours amid mixed earnings results

The shares of Block Inc. fell slightly in after-hours trading today after the financial services company fell short on revenue in its fiscal third quarter but reported slightly better-than-expected profits.

For the quarter ended September 30, Block reported adjusted earnings per share of 88 cents, compared with 50 cents per share in the same quarter last year, on revenue of $5.98 billion, up 6% year over year. Profit was higher than 87 cents per share expected by analystswhile revenue fell short of the expected $6.24 billion.

Block posted gross profit of $2.25 billion in the quarter, up 19% year over year, and net income of $283.7 million, compared to a loss of $88.7 million in the third quarter of 2023.

The company’s growth was driven by its Cash App business, which saw a 21% increase in profits to $1.31 billion, thanks in part to the monthly active number of Cash App card users rising 11% to more than 24 million. Block’s Square business also grew, up 16% year-over-year to $932 million. The company reported operating income of $323 million and adjusted operating income of $444 million for the quarter.

“We outperformed our gross profit and profitability expectations in the third quarter of 2024,” CEO Jack Dorsey said in a press release. long letter to shareholders – a man who, despite being the co-founder of Twitter, seems to have forgotten that brevity is the soul of humor. “Cash App continued its strong performance, primarily driven by growth in inflows per active person and an increase in monetization.”

For the fiscal fourth quarter, Block expects gross profit of $2.31 billion and $8.89 billion for the full year.

In addition, Block also revealed that it was in discussions with several money transmission licensing regulators regarding its compliance program, including its anti-money laundering program.

The earnings report also comes as Block and Dorsey may have become partially embroiled in the ongoing scandal surrounding singer P-Diddy. According to Fortune and company employees have been told not to discuss prominent board member Jay-Z given his alleged friendship with P. Diddy, who is currently in prison on sex trafficking and other charges.

It is also notable that Dorsey reportedly disabled the ability for employees to ask questions anonymously during a virtual meeting. Attendees also said the CEO opened the meeting by complaining about perceived “negativity” from staff, saying he wanted more positivity.

Photo: Block