Block (NYSE:XYZ) shares traded modestly lower in premarket trading on Thursday, even after the fintech company lifted its full-year adjusted profit forecast following solid consumer spending trends and continued momentum at its Cash App business.
The company now expects adjusted earnings of $4.02 per share for full-year 2026, up from its previous forecast of $3.85. However, analysts at Vital Knowledge said, “there is some disappointment” that the increase to guidance was not larger.
Block also reported quarterly revenue and earnings ahead of market expectations and issued third-quarter adjusted profit guidance that slightly exceeded analysts’ forecasts.
Cash App and Square continue to support growth
The company operates several well-known financial technology platforms, including Square, its point-of-sale solution for merchants, and Afterpay, its buy now, pay later service. Cash App remains Block’s largest source of revenue, providing users with digital payments, personal finance tools and bitcoin trading capabilities.
Founded as Square in 2009 by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, the business changed its corporate name to Block in 2021 to reflect its expansion beyond payments into blockchain and other emerging technologies.
Earlier this year, Dorsey announced more than 4,000 job cuts as part of a wider cost-reduction programme, arguing that advances in artificial intelligence would allow the company to operate with “smaller and flatter teams.”
Neighborhoods programme gains momentum
Block is also investing in its Neighborhoods loyalty platform, introduced in October last year to connect Square merchants with Cash App users and strengthen customer engagement across its ecosystem.
Management said, “We have high conviction that Neighborhoods has found product-market fit. Now we’re focused on scaling it.”
The company added, “As of June, we’ve scaled Neighborhoods to sellers representing a total of $1 billion in annualized gross payment volume (GPV), up over 220% from March.”
Quarterly performance exceeds expectations
For the second quarter of 2026, Block reported adjusted earnings of $1.02 per share on revenue of $6.62 billion, comfortably ahead of analyst expectations for earnings of $0.87 per share and revenue of $6.50 billion.
Gross payment volume (GPV) growth in the U.S. Square business accelerated to 10%, marking its strongest quarterly performance since the second quarter of 2023.
Meanwhile, monthly transacting users on Cash App increased 3% year over year to 59 million, while commerce enablement volume climbed 17% to $56.5 billion.
Looking ahead, Block forecasts adjusted earnings of $1.02 per share for the third quarter, representing annual growth of 89% and slightly exceeding analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.01 per share.
Block stock price
