Stocks fall after hours amid mixed earnings results

Block Inc. shares were down slightly in after-hours trading today after the financial services company missed revenue in the fiscal third quarter but reported slightly better-than-expected earnings.

For the quarter ended Sept. 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. . Earnings topped 87 cents per share. expected by analystswhile revenue fell short of the expected $6.24 billion.

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

The company’s growth was driven by its Cash App business, which grew profitability 21% to $1.31 billion, driven in part by an 11% increase in monthly active Cash App card users to more than 24 million. Block’s Square business also grew 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 exceeded our gross profit and margin estimates in the third quarter of 2024,” CEO Jack Dorsey said in the report. long letter to shareholders – a man who, despite being the co-founder of Twitter, seems to have forgotten that brevity is the soul of wit. “Cash App continues to deliver strong results, driven primarily by higher inflows per activity and increased monetization levels.”

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

Separately, Block also said it is in discussions with several remittance licensing regulators regarding its compliance program, including its anti-money laundering program.

The earnings report also comes as Block and Dorsey may have been partially embroiled in an ongoing scandal involving singer P-Diddy. According to Fortune employees have been ordered 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.

Also notable is that Dorsey reportedly disabled the ability for employees to ask questions anonymously at the virtual town hall meeting. Those in attendance also said the CEO began the meeting by complaining about perceived “negativity” from employees, saying he wanted more positivity.

Photo: Block