The shares of Block Inc. surged more than 8.1% in after-market trading, with its Cash App registering 27% growth in gross profit and Square accelerating following a prolonged period of slower growth. The surge was triggered by the earnings report that came out on Tuesday.
Block saw total gross profit rise 22% from a year earlier, beating management’s guidance. Cash App and Square grew, but Bitcoin did not. Block’s adjusted earnings per share reached $1.13, more than double the previous year’s figure, after a 109% increase. Its adjusted operating income margin hit 29%, a company record. That margin matters because Block kept a larger share of its gross profit as operating earnings, instead of letting expenses absorb the extra money coming in.
Block sees rise as Cash App also jumps 27%
Cash App had 60 million monthly transacting users in September. One reason was Neighborhoods, a product connecting customers who shop with Square merchants to the Cash App network. The goal is to turn two separate user bases into one connected network. Origination of Block’s customer loans grew by 40% from the previous year due to Cash App Borrow and Afterpay Post-Purchase. Gross payment volume, or GPV, recorded an increase of 14%, the highest year-on-year growth since the first quarter of 2023.
In the US, the number increased by 10.4%, and internationally, it surged by 26%. GPV is the volume of payments processed and not the income generated. The financial breakdown provides information on the sources of the income. Gross profit for Square increased by 14%, whereas Commerce Enablement’s gross profit was up by 19% due to improvement in payment activity within Square and Cash App. Financial Solutions’ growth was 32% due to consumer lending. Bitcoin went the other way.
Bitcoin Ecosystem gross profit dropped 50% from a year earlier. Block said it deliberately cut fees on certain Bitcoin trades made through Cash App. That does not mean Bitcoin trading volume was cut in half. “We expect Block to perform meaningfully better in 2026 than the expectations we outlined at Investor Day in November 2025,” Jack and Block CFO Amrita Ahuja wrote in their shareholder letter. For 2026, Block is forecasting 22% gross profit growth, 69% growth in adjusted operating income and a 75% rise in adjusted diluted earnings per share.
Those are forecasts, not reported earnings. The longer-term figures are more restrained with regard to growth in sales. The management of Block is forecasting that gross profit will grow by at least 15% in 2027, while adjusted operating income is expected to grow by 30% to reach $4.575 billion. “Neighborhoods has started to connect Square and Cash App, while our investments in AI are laying the foundation for what we believe will become Block’s next ecosystem,” Jack and Amrita told shareholders.
Also, Block anticipates a third consecutive year of rapid growth in GPV for Square in 2027, while gross profit is projected to follow suit almost similarly. The Cash App will see an addition of active customers in low single digits, while both Commerce Enablement and Financial Solutions are anticipated to generate impressive gross profit growth. Analysts were less conclusive before the report. The conflicting estimate revisions for earnings kept Block at Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that the stock is expected to perform about the same as the broader market.
