Block, Inc

Block has expanded its Neighborhoods program to connect Cash App customers with an additional 30,000 Square sellers, integrating Local Cash rewards of up to US$10 per qualifying order and scaling the network to sellers representing US$1.00 billion in annualized gross payment volume as of June 2026. Spend from Neighborhoods followers has grown to about 10% of seller payment volume after three quarters, highlighting how Block's ecosystem can deepen relationships between frequent Cash App users and local businesses. The expansion supports the near-term catalyst of higher cross-platform activity but does not materially change the key risk around slowing Cash App user growth and earnings volatility from newer products and legal issues. Block's first half 2026 results showed revenue grew to US$12,674.53 million while the company swung to a net loss of US$220.16 million.

Square and OpenTable announced an expanded, preferred partnership that connects reservations, payments, and guest data in one unified view for restaurants. The integration links OpenTable's guest insights with Square's transaction and operational data, enabling operators to see reservation history, dining preferences, and spending together. Restaurants can now link bookings to revenue, repeat visits, and lifetime value to improve loyalty and marketing. The partnership serves restaurants across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, Ireland, and France, building on a point-of-sale collaboration that began in 2022.

Block launched Bitcoin payments on Square's point-of-sale system, allowing merchants to accept Bitcoin with no processing fees until 2027. The company also expanded its partnership with Google to bring Square food and beverage sellers into conversational AI ordering through Google Maps, with Cash App ordering set to link directly within Google Maps. The move connects discovery to checkout for participating Square restaurant sellers and fits into Block's push to link how merchants accept money with how consumers discover and pay for services.

Block's fair value estimate has been raised from US$93.23 to US$97.60 following a wave of analyst revisions after its second-quarter results. Firms including BofA, Citi, Piper Sandler, and Goldman Sachs lifted price targets into a roughly US$95 to US$115 range, citing 25% gross profit growth, a 37% adjusted EBITDA margin, and raised 2026 guidance. BMO Capital kept a Market Perform rating but flagged the risk that some positives could be one-offs, while Piper Sandler and Cantor Fitzgerald noted macro and credit uncertainties. The revised valuation reflects a lower revenue growth assumption of 10.46% versus 10.86% previously, offset by a higher net profit margin of 11.19% and a slightly higher discount rate of 7.58%.

Venture capitalist Tim Draper projected on Tuesday that Bitcoin will go to infinity against the dollar in a fundamental global shift. In an X post, Draper attached a screenshot of a March announcement about Jack Dorsey-led Block Inc. launching Bitcoin payments on its Square point-of-sale system, which lets merchants accept BTC payments with no processing fees until 2027 and includes a Conversion feature enabling them to convert a portion of card sales into Bitcoin. Draper, an early Bitcoin backer, outlined a step-by-step progression for Bitcoin adoption: businesses start accepting it, then exclusively accept it, triggering bank runs and ultimately causing BTC to go to infinity against the dollar. The billionaire investor considers his Bitcoin holdings more secure than the dollars he keeps in the bank, arguing that quantum computing poses a greater risk to banks than to the blockchain.

Block CEO Jack Dorsey said the company's new workspace collaboration platform, Buzz, elevates its core technologies to a new height. During Block's second-quarter earnings call, Dorsey stated that AI technologies have always been integral to the company's DNA, and that Buzz takes it to a different level. He noted many sellers are frustrated with current tools and seek something built-in, with Buzz designed to help businesses manage sales, employees and operations from a single workspace. Block launched Buzz last month as an open-source platform connecting humans and AI agents in conversations. The company also reported second-quarter earnings of $1.02 per share, beating the consensus estimate of 87 cents, and revenue of $6.62 billion, surpassing the $6.49 billion estimate.

Block completed a multi-year US$4.43 billion share repurchase program that retired 11.03% of its stock, while reporting second-quarter revenue of US$6,617.69 million and net income of US$88.52 million. A day later, Google announced an expanded collaboration with Square that integrates food and beverage sellers into Ask Maps and Order by Cash App, linking Block's payments ecosystems more tightly into AI-driven restaurant discovery and ordering. The combination of AI-led product acceleration and deeper Google integration could reshape Block's investment narrative, though rising credit exposure and narrower margins remain key risks.

Block raised its 2026 outlook after second-quarter gross profit grew 25% and the adjusted operating income margin reached a record 27%. The company now expects 2026 gross profit of $12.51 billion, up 21%, and adjusted operating income of $3.47 billion at a 28% margin, with full-year adjusted earnings projected at $4.02 per share, up 70%. Adjusted earnings of $1.02 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.86, while revenues of $6.62 billion topped the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Square gross payment volume grew 13% to $72.8 billion, with U.S. growth accelerating to roughly 10%, its strongest rate since the second quarter of 2023, and Cash App gross profit rose 31% to $1.97 billion. Management highlighted faster product development, with code changes per engineer up 150% since the start of 2026 and Square shipping 130 features in the first half, more than triple the prior-year pace.

Block reported second-quarter revenue of $6.62 billion, a 9.3% increase from a year earlier, while earnings per share jumped to $1.02 from $0.62. Revenue exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.54 billion by 1.25%, and EPS beat the consensus of $0.86 by 18.61%. Cash App Monthly Transacting Actives reached 59 million, just shy of the 59.17 million estimate, and Total Cash App Inflows were $87 billion versus the $87.42 billion forecast. Square Gross Payment Volume came in at $72.85 billion, above the $72.16 billion estimate, and Square total revenue rose 15.6% year over year to $2.5 billion, while Cash App total revenue grew 4.6% to $4.02 billion.

US payments giant Block on the 5th raised its full-year 2026 gross profit guidance to $12.51 billion, representing growth of 21 percent. The previous forecast was $12.33 billion, or 19 percent growth. Second-quarter gross profit saw a 31 percent year-on-year surge in the consumer mobile payment app Cash App, while the merchant business Square grew 13 percent. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.02, beating the analyst consensus of $0.87 compiled by LSEG, and revenue of $6.62 billion also topped market expectations of around $6.49 billion. Block shares rose more than 4 percent in after-hours trading.

Kreation Organic, the cold-pressed juice and healthy quick-service restaurant brand, has renewed and expanded its partnership with Square across all 25 of its Southern California locations, with two additional openings on the way. The brand is deepening its investment in Square's platform by adding Square Kiosk and Square Handheld to an existing stack that already includes Square for Restaurants, Square Loyalty, Square Marketing, and Square Gift Cards. Founder and CEO Marjan Sarshar said Square handles operational complexity so her team can focus on crafting nourishing food. Square Handhelds will be used for line-busting and flexible payments during peak hours, while Square Kiosk will support self-service ordering with automatic menu updates. Kreation also connects Square with UberEats and Postmates via direct integration.

Jack Dorsey has launched Buzz, a new open-source group chat platform built by Block Inc. that aims to compete with Slack and GitHub by merging human and AI agent conversations into one workspace. The platform is model-agnostic, decentralized, and available on macOS, Windows, and Linux. The launch could pressure Salesforce, which acquired Slack for $27.7 billion in 2021, and Microsoft, which bought GitHub for $7.5 billion in 2018. Salesforce shares fell 3.6% to $163.90 on Wednesday and are down 35.4% year-to-date in 2026, with KeyBanc analyst Jackson Ader recently downgrading the stock to Sector Weight citing limited growth signs.

BlackRock, Strategy and Coinbase are among the founding members of a new Bitcoin Security Consortium that will direct $15 million over three years to developers, researchers and organizations working on Bitcoin's long-term security. Other founding members include Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, Block, Blockstream, Fidelity Digital Assets and Galaxy. Each member will independently decide where its capital goes, with Brink Executive Director Mike Schmidt coordinating the consortium's work in a volunteer capacity. The first area of focus is post-quantum cryptography, addressing the future risk of quantum computers breaking Bitcoin's cryptography. The group will not direct Bitcoin's protocol or endorse specific upgrades, but will support existing work and publish material to give investors and the public a clearer view of Bitcoin's security progress.

Dimassi’s Mediterranean Buffet has expanded its longstanding partnership with Square as it eyes further US expansion. The family-owned, halal Mediterranean buffet chain now operates 24 locations across Texas and California, with three additional restaurants planned for 2026. The brand is deepening its use of Square’s platform by adding Square Marketing and a range of food and beverage capabilities to the all-in-one payments, point-of-sale, and software stack it has relied on since 2018. Dimassi’s runs Square Register and Square Handheld across its locations for front-of-house transactions, alongside Square Gift Cards and Square Loyalty, and utilizes Square’s partner ecosystem including integrations with DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, Olo, and QuickBooks Online. The expanded partnership aims to provide consistency across locations and support the brand’s growth as it opens new restaurants.

Honolulu Cookie Company is expanding its use of Block's Square platform across 14 locations and a new flagship store, providing a real-world test of Block's merchant reach. Block's share price has returned 7.49% over the past 30 days and 23.38% year to date, though its five-year total shareholder return is down 68.07%. The most followed narrative pegs Block's fair value at $90.52 versus a last close of $80.38, suggesting the stock is 11.2% undervalued, while its current P/E ratio of 59.8x stands well above the peer average of 11.7x and the US Diversified Financial industry average of 15.1x.

PayPal Holdings surged 17.20 percent on Wednesday to close at $55.52 apiece following a report that Stripe and Advent International are joining forces to acquire the digital payments company for $53 billion. Reuters reported that the deal would be at a price of $60.50 apiece, or at a 27.7 percent premium potential over its $47.37 closing price prior to the report, with Stripe and Advent taking equal ownership. CNBC added that Block Inc. is considering joining the acquisition, potentially investing $17 billion. Macquarie reiterated a neutral stance on PayPal with a $50 price target, noting the potential for cost discipline and operational improvement under private equity ownership. Hedge fund participation had softened before the reports, with 76 funds holding $1.2 billion in stakes as of the first quarter, down from 78 funds holding $2.087 billion in the prior quarter.

Stripe and Advent have reportedly bid $60.50 per share for PayPal in a deal valued at $53.4 billion, with Block also joining the group and each planning to contribute $17 billion in equity. The offer includes about $50 billion in committed bank financing, and PayPal’s board has yet to respond. The acquisition would give the bidders access to PayPal’s consumer network of over 430 million accounts, complementing their merchant-focused businesses, with Venmo seen as a key prize due to its strong brand and double-digit payment volume growth. William Blair analyst Andrew Jeffrey called the initial bid a potential low-ball offer and suggested the group could go as high as $70 per share.

Zacks Investment Research identifies Visa, Robinhood, and Block as three crypto and blockchain stocks positioned to benefit from the sector's evolution into a regulated component of global finance. Visa is building an interoperability bridge between blockchain liquidity and commerce, with more than 160 stablecoin-card programs live or in development and a nine-chain settlement pilot reaching a $7 billion annualized run rate. Robinhood is expanding from retail execution toward global infrastructure, with its Ethereum Layer 2 testnet surpassing 100 million transactions and Bitstamp's first-quarter volume approximately 94% institutional. Block's vertically integrated bitcoin strategy spans Cash App, which posted preliminary second-quarter 2026 Bitcoin Ecosystem revenue of $1.8 billion, self-custody wallet Bitkey, and mining infrastructure unit Proto. All three stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

The global mobile point-of-sale terminals market, valued at USD 52.17 billion in 2025, is projected to reach USD 127.77 billion by 2032, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 13.65%. The market is driven by the adoption of contactless payments, tokenization, and software-defined terminals, with vendors shifting toward platform models that integrate device provisioning, firmware management, and value-added services like loyalty programs and analytics. Segmentation by payment mode includes contactless NFC, EMV chip and PIN, magnetic stripe, and QR code and barcode, while connectivity options span audio jack, Bluetooth, USB OTG, and Wi-Fi. Regional dynamics vary, with the Americas prioritizing integrated POS solutions, EMEA navigating diverse certification schemes, and Asia-Pacific dominated by QR-based payments and mobile ecosystems. Key players such as Worldline, Verifone, PAX Technology, and Block are leveraging partnerships and service-enriched offerings to strengthen competitive positioning.

Block (XYZ) has been identified as a compelling growth stock by Zacks Investment Research, earning a Growth Score of A and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The company's earnings per share are projected to surge 64.4% this year, far outpacing the industry average of 21.1%, while its historical EPS growth rate stands at 55%. Block also demonstrates superior asset efficiency with a sales-to-total-assets ratio of 0.63, slightly above the industry average of 0.61, and its sales are expected to grow 8.1% versus the industry's 7.7%. Positive earnings estimate revisions have lifted the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year by 1% over the past month, reinforcing the bullish outlook.

Piper Sandler analyst Bill Carcache double-upgraded Block to Overweight and raised his price target to $100, implying more than 30% upside from current levels. Carcache cited gross profit growth and margin expansion, noting resilient network activity despite a challenging macro environment. He highlighted Block's ability to deepen daily consumer interactions and manage credit risk, viewing the company as a deeply embedded ecosystem rather than a cyclical payments firm. The analyst also pointed to an AI-driven corporate overhaul that slashed management layers and enabled faster software rollouts across Cash App and Square, which he believes will help turn Cash App into a primary banking account. Block stock is already up more than 50% from its year-to-date low in mid-February, and the consensus rating remains Strong Buy with a mean price target of about $88.

Zacks Investment Research compares Intuit and Block, concluding that Block is the smarter, lower-risk buy for investors. Block's first-quarter 2026 net revenues increased 4.9% year over year, while gross profit climbed 27.1%, driven by Cash App's 38.3% rise and Square's 9.4% increase. Intuit reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue growth of 10.4% and expects 13-14% growth for the full fiscal year, but faces concerns over rising costs and competitive pricing pressure. Block holds a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) with upward-trending earnings estimates and a cheaper forward price-to-sales ratio of 1.68X, compared to Intuit's 3.08X and Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Over the past month, Block's shares have outperformed both Intuit and the S&P 500.

Piper Sandler double upgraded Block to Overweight from Underweight and initiated coverage of PayPal with a Neutral rating. Block's price target was raised to $100 from $58, while PayPal's was lowered to $42 from $46. The firm also rated Affirm, American Express, Capital One Financial, Mastercard, and Visa as Overweight with respective price targets of $103, $396, $254, $597, and $394. Analyst Bill Carcache cited company-specific drivers for constructive cases, noting PayPal's low valuation is balanced by unresolved take-rate and transaction margin pressure.

Block shares rose 6.8% following an analyst upgrade and the announcement that Ladurée Canada selected Square as its exclusive commerce platform across all Canadian locations. Piper Sandler upgraded Block within the payments sector, while the Ladurée deployment spans salons, cafés, airport kiosks, and mobile setups, showcasing Square's ability to serve complex multi-format merchants. Block was also removed from several Russell growth benchmarks, though this is seen as having limited impact on near-term drivers. The company's investment narrative projects $33.6 billion in revenue and $3.3 billion in earnings by 2029, with a fair value estimate of $90.52 per share, implying 16% upside.

Block's Square has secured a partnership with Sherwin-Williams, the world's largest paint and coatings company, to provide payment solutions for its PRO+ customers through the Digital Alliance Program. Sherwin-Williams will use Square for Services to streamline operations such as creating estimates, scheduling jobs, collecting payments, and coordinating with clients from consultation to invoicing. Square Invoices will enable painters and contractors to collect deposits upfront, schedule milestone payments, set up recurring billing, and send automated payment reminders, while Square Checking provides instant access to funds. The collaboration strengthens Square's position in the professional services ecosystem and supports Block's long-term revenue expansion.

Piper Sandler double upgraded Block to Overweight from Underweight and raised its price target to $100 from $58. Arete downgraded Trade Desk to Sell from Neutral with an $11.60 target. Other notable calls include Deutsche Bank upgrading Comcast to Buy, HSBC cutting Fortinet to Reduce, and Bank of America downgrading both Logitech and Scorpio Tankers to Underperform. New coverage was initiated on Klarna with a Market Perform at Citizens and on Visa with an Overweight at Piper Sandler.

Square Financial Services, the financial services unit of Block Inc., launched a higher-yield savings tier offering a 3.50% annual percentage yield. The rate applies to Square sellers who maintain a daily balance of more than $10,000 in their Square Savings accounts, with the service activating automatically once the threshold is reached and the rate calculated daily on the entire balance. The savings account has no minimum deposit requirement to open and no monthly fees. The launch follows Block's introduction of Cash App Tags, an NFC-enabled payment accessory linked to the Cash App Visa Card that allows cardholders to make purchases without phones or wallets.

Eric Fry, writing for InvestorPlace, identifies Block Inc., Royalty Pharma Plc, and Equinor ASA as three forever stocks positioned to benefit from the AI age. Block, which operates the Square payment app, helps merchants transact over $200 billion annually and generated $3.2 billion in free cash flow by March 31, a 172% increase year-over-year. Royalty Pharma manages a portfolio of royalties on over 35 commercial products and 17 development-stage drug candidates, leveraging a high-margin business model. Equinor, Norway’s largest energy company and Europe’s biggest non-Russian natural gas supplier, is benefiting as European countries phase out Russian oil and gas.