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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter revenues is currently pegged at $6.23 billion, indicating growth of 7.99% year over year.
The consensus mark for earnings is currently pegged at 83 cents per share, up by a penny over the past 30 days. The figure indicates an 84.44% jump from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.
Block’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters, missing twice, the earnings surprise being 9.27%, on average.
Let’s see how things are shaping up prior to this announcement.
Key Factors to Consider for XYZ’s Q4 Earnings
Block’s robust product portfolio has been a key factor in driving up Gross Payment Volume (GPV). In the fourth quarter of 2024, Block processed $62.49 billion of GPV, up 4% year over year.
Strength across the Square ecosystem on the back of its strong banking products and point-of-sale (POS) solutions are likely to have contributed well to GPV in the to-be-reported quarter. Block expects U.S. and Global GPV growth to improve modestly in the fourth quarter of 2024 on a sequential basis. These factors are expected to have aided XYZ’s top-line growth in the to-be-reported quarter.
Block is likely to have sustained its momentum in the cryptocurrency space on the back of Cash App, which allows users to buy, sell, send and receive bitcoin.
Strong product portfolio and partner base are expected to drive the top line as well as profitability. XYZ expects gross profit to grow 14% year over year to $2.31 billion. Adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to be 31%, while adjusted operating margin is anticipated to be 15%.
Block Shares Outperform Sector
Block shares have returned 28% in the trailing 12-month period, outperforming the Zacks Business Services sector’s appreciation of 26.2% but lagging the Zacks Technology Services industry’s 84.3%.
XYZ Stock’s Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
XYZ stock is not so cheap, as the Value Score of C suggests a stretched valuation at this moment.
Strong Portfolio, Rich Partner Base Aids XYZ’s Prospects
Block’s strong positioning in the digital payments industry on the back of its robust payment and point-of-sale (POS) solutions is a major driver. XYZ’s comprehensive commerce ecosystem, which enables sellers to combine software, hardware and payment services to accept payments from customers, helps it sustain solid momentum across sellers.
Its rich partner base, including Wix, Restaurant365, and Intuit (INTU - Free Report) , has been a key catalyst. XYZ is expanding its footprint among beauty and wellness providers with new partner integrations, including SalonInteractive, Vish, Submatic, Pomp, SalconScale and Glammatic. It inked a distribution partnership with SalonCentric that will bring Square’s hardware and software offerings to more beauty professionals.
XYZ’s Cash App and Lyft (LYFT - Free Report) inked a partnership that will bring a customer-friendly new payment method to the latter’s customers. Cash App’s partnership with Alphabet’s (GOOGL - Free Report) Google Play offers a preferred alternative payment option when checking out on their Android smartphones or tablets.
Expanding BNPL Footprint Aids Block’s Top-Line Growth
Afterpay’s BNPL offering is now available to Alphabet’s Google Play users. The expansion bodes well for the Afterpay division, on which Block estimates that consumers have spent more than $72 billion since its acquisition. Per XYZ, consumer cohorts on the platform for over five years transact more than 31 times per year on average compared with four times for those who joined in the past year.
Block leverages Afterpay to boost consumer engagement. On a trailing 12-month basis, Afterpay has driven 460 million leads to merchants and saw 138 million consumer visits. This is driving advertising revenue growth.
BNPL’s Gross Merchandise Volume jumped 23% year over year to $8.24 billion, exiting the third quarter of 2024. Growth was driven by strength in Block’s Pay-in-Four offering and Single Use Payments, which enables customers to BNPL at both in and out-of-network merchants from within the Afterpay app.
Block Shares - Buy, Sell or Hold?
Block’s strong portfolio offerings and an expanding partner base are key long-term drivers. Hence, investors who already own the stock should benefit from these drivers over the long haul.
However, challenging macroeconomic conditions and sluggish trends in consumer spending are concerning for XYZ. Block expects operating margin expansion in 2025 to be lower than 2024, driven by a high level of investments around go-to-market initiatives. A stretched valuation makes the stock a risky bet.
Block shares are trading below the 200-day moving average, indicating a bearish trend.
Image: Shutterstock
Buy, Sell or Hold Block Stock? Key Tips Ahead of Q4 Earnings
Block (XYZ - Free Report) is set to report its fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 20.
Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter revenues is currently pegged at $6.23 billion, indicating growth of 7.99% year over year.
The consensus mark for earnings is currently pegged at 83 cents per share, up by a penny over the past 30 days. The figure indicates an 84.44% jump from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.
Block’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters, missing twice, the earnings surprise being 9.27%, on average.
Block, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Block, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Block, Inc. Quote
Let’s see how things are shaping up prior to this announcement.
Key Factors to Consider for XYZ’s Q4 Earnings
Block’s robust product portfolio has been a key factor in driving up Gross Payment Volume (GPV). In the fourth quarter of 2024, Block processed $62.49 billion of GPV, up 4% year over year.
Strength across the Square ecosystem on the back of its strong banking products and point-of-sale (POS) solutions are likely to have contributed well to GPV in the to-be-reported quarter. Block expects U.S. and Global GPV growth to improve modestly in the fourth quarter of 2024 on a sequential basis. These factors are expected to have aided XYZ’s top-line growth in the to-be-reported quarter.
Block is likely to have sustained its momentum in the cryptocurrency space on the back of Cash App, which allows users to buy, sell, send and receive bitcoin.
Strong product portfolio and partner base are expected to drive the top line as well as profitability. XYZ expects gross profit to grow 14% year over year to $2.31 billion. Adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to be 31%, while adjusted operating margin is anticipated to be 15%.
Block Shares Outperform Sector
Block shares have returned 28% in the trailing 12-month period, outperforming the Zacks Business Services sector’s appreciation of 26.2% but lagging the Zacks Technology Services industry’s 84.3%.
XYZ Stock’s Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
XYZ stock is not so cheap, as the Value Score of C suggests a stretched valuation at this moment.
Strong Portfolio, Rich Partner Base Aids XYZ’s Prospects
Block’s strong positioning in the digital payments industry on the back of its robust payment and point-of-sale (POS) solutions is a major driver. XYZ’s comprehensive commerce ecosystem, which enables sellers to combine software, hardware and payment services to accept payments from customers, helps it sustain solid momentum across sellers.
Its rich partner base, including Wix, Restaurant365, and Intuit (INTU - Free Report) , has been a key catalyst. XYZ is expanding its footprint among beauty and wellness providers with new partner integrations, including SalonInteractive, Vish, Submatic, Pomp, SalconScale and Glammatic. It inked a distribution partnership with SalonCentric that will bring Square’s hardware and software offerings to more beauty professionals.
XYZ’s Cash App and Lyft (LYFT - Free Report) inked a partnership that will bring a customer-friendly new payment method to the latter’s customers. Cash App’s partnership with Alphabet’s (GOOGL - Free Report) Google Play offers a preferred alternative payment option when checking out on their Android smartphones or tablets.
Expanding BNPL Footprint Aids Block’s Top-Line Growth
Afterpay’s BNPL offering is now available to Alphabet’s Google Play users. The expansion bodes well for the Afterpay division, on which Block estimates that consumers have spent more than $72 billion since its acquisition. Per XYZ, consumer cohorts on the platform for over five years transact more than 31 times per year on average compared with four times for those who joined in the past year.
Block leverages Afterpay to boost consumer engagement. On a trailing 12-month basis, Afterpay has driven 460 million leads to merchants and saw 138 million consumer visits. This is driving advertising revenue growth.
BNPL’s Gross Merchandise Volume jumped 23% year over year to $8.24 billion, exiting the third quarter of 2024. Growth was driven by strength in Block’s Pay-in-Four offering and Single Use Payments, which enables customers to BNPL at both in and out-of-network merchants from within the Afterpay app.
Block Shares - Buy, Sell or Hold?
Block’s strong portfolio offerings and an expanding partner base are key long-term drivers. Hence, investors who already own the stock should benefit from these drivers over the long haul.
However, challenging macroeconomic conditions and sluggish trends in consumer spending are concerning for XYZ. Block expects operating margin expansion in 2025 to be lower than 2024, driven by a high level of investments around go-to-market initiatives. A stretched valuation makes the stock a risky bet.
Block shares are trading below the 200-day moving average, indicating a bearish trend.
XYZ Shares Trade Below 200-Day SMA
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Currently, Block carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which implies that investors should wait for a better entry point to accumulate the stock. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.