Square (NYSE: SQ) shares fell after hours as the company’s December-quarter financials beat analyst expectations but gross payment volume was slightly below estimates. The company is one of the fastest-growing fintechs in the world and has witnessed the popularity of its Cash App soar during COVID-19. In general, digital payment tech companies have been some of the biggest winners throughout the health crisis as they have made it easier for people and businesses to send and receive payments safely.
On Tuesday, the San Francisco-based company recorded better-than-expected Q4 results;
Adjusted earnings of $0.32 per share, up 39% year-over-year (YoY), beating the Street’s estimate of $0.24.
Revenues of $3.16 billion, up 141% YoY, smashed the consensus forecast of $3.11 billion.
Gross profit of $804 million, up 52% YoY, beating forecasts of $801 million.
Sales for its Seller system, which allows merchants to accept mobile card payments via a plastic dongle that’s inserted into a mobile phone, grew to $987 million.
Subscription and services-based income climbed to $449 million, up 60% YoY.
Square’s gross payment volume falls short
Shareholders were disappointed with Square’s gross payment volume (GPV) of $32 billion for the quarter, which was up 12% YoY but still fell short of Wall Street’s prediction of $32.1 billion. Square’s GPV provides investors with an overall picture of transaction volumes and is the main gauge of the total dollar amount being transferred through its payment services. The higher the volume of payments tracked by GPV, the more transaction revenue Square can generate.
Square stated that revenue growth was driven by more people using the Cash App to buy and sell Bitcoin. The mobile payments company benefited hugely from the recent Bitcoin rally, helping Square generate $1.76 billion in profit. Excluding Bitcoin, Square’s total net revenue increased to $1.4 billion, meaning the company was heavily reliant on cryptocurrency transactions on its platform during the quarter.
During the earnings call, Square also disclosed that it had invested a further $170 million into Bitcoin in addition to its earlier $50 million purchase. This investment could provide the company with further income down the line, yet the worry for investors here is that financial regulators might begin to crack down on Bitcoin.
Square is growing its user base
Square shares have surged over 16% year-to-date as investors largely ignored the threat of small businesses closing during the pandemic and how this could affect the company. Instead, shareholders focused on the growth of the company’s Cash App and how the service could help people make payments safely during the pandemic. At the end of 2020, its Cash App had 36 million users, up from 30 million at the end of Q3.
Square’s revenue growth is benefiting from the shift to e-commerce and growing popularity for its digital cryptocurrency transaction services offered by its Cash App. Whether investors need to be worried about Square’s reliance on Bitcoin is still a concern for many. However, Bitcoin continues to receive legitimacy in the eyes of the financial world as more companies like Tesla invest in it. This might just be a play that could work in the company’s favor but is still one that investors are watching closely.
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NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.
“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”
Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.
Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.
Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.
In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.
The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.
And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.
The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
