Jack Dorsey's Block Pushes Into Banking as Stock Price Tumbles
Despite her loyalty, the 35-year-old content creator has remained immune to the company's efforts to turn customers like her into users of its banking services.
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Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Latest S&P 500 entrant surprises 4M merchants, stock jumps
Latest S&P 500 entrant surprises 4M merchants, stock jumps originally appeared on TheStreet. Block, Inc. (NYSE: XYZ), the tech and financial services company, recently made a few announcements that have sent the company's stock soaring. First, the company is set to join the S&P 500, the stock market index tracking the performance of 500 of the largest public companies in the U.S., on July 23. Next, Block's business head, Owen Jennings, announced on July 22 that the company's Square payments system is onboarding merchants to its new Bitcoin acceptance feature. The Square point-of-sale terminal system serves over 4 million U.S. merchants who can potentially pivot toward Bitcoin payments via the Lightning Network. Square integrating Bitcoin payments for its large user base comes at an opportune time, as the world's largest cryptocurrency hit an all-time high (ATH) of $123,091.61 only last by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey in 2009, Block, Inc., earlier known as Square, Inc., has a suite of products that are geared toward Bitcoin. Besides Square, it offers the Cash App digital wallet that supports Bitcoin investments and the self-custody Bitkey wallet for Bitcoin. Block, Inc. holds more than $1 billion in 8,584 BTC on its corporate balance sheet. Dorsey himself is a well-known Bitcoin advocate who believes its price will go up to $1 million at least by 2030. Block, Inc., which went public in 2015, saw its stock soar 9% to as high as $79.44 on July 21 following the July 18 announcement of its inclusion in the S&P 500. Square's recent announcement of Bitcoin integration led to the stock continuing its rally. The XYZ stock was exchanging hands at $80.32 in pre-market hours on July 23. Latest S&P 500 entrant surprises 4M merchants, stock jumps first appeared on TheStreet on Jul 23, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jul 23, 2025, where it first appeared. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Block Stock Pops in S&P 500 Debut
On Monday, Jack Dorsey's sprawling fintech empire Block became the new kid on the block at the S&P 500, taking a spot left vacant by Hess's merger with Chevron. Its membership in the elite index comes as the company transitions into an all-in-one finance platform, though its ambitions may belie a slightly more complicated reality. READ ALSO: Fine Print: ETFs Born in Banner Year May Lack Staying Power and Gates-Backed 'Green Steel' Startup Clears Key Milestone Don't Be a Square Block has been a rather ubiquitous part of the payments ecosystem for a while now, from powering morning coffee purchases via Square's payment systems to helping friends split the bill of said morning coffee purchases via the peer-to-peer payments platform CashApp. The company also has a buy now, pay later service called Afterpay, for the installment-inclined and plenty of crypto functionality for the blockchain-inclined. More recently, however, the company has begun pushing into every corner of personal finance, with moves such as offering CashApp debit cards and, after receiving FDIC approval earlier this year, offering loans directly through Cash App. Taking a spot in the S&P 500 is a stamp of approval and legitimacy for the fintech firm. But the problem with offering typical financial services outside of the traditional finance world? It tends to attract clients with less cash to spare who are, consequently, more vulnerable to economic challenges, as evidenced by the company's most recent earnings report in May: In its earnings call, Block reported revenue of $5.8 billion in the first quarter of the year, well below analysts' expectations of about $6.2 billion and marking a 3% year-over-year decrease. The company also announced weaker-than-expected full-year profit guidance. The dip was largely due to lower-than-expected payment volumes across its Square and CashApp ecosystems, particularly in discretionary spending categories such as media and travel. The dour results stood in stark contrast to those of more traditional firms in the payments sector, including both major banks and prominent credit card companies, whose customers have proven resilient this year. '[Block] saw softness in discretionary,' Adam Frisch, senior managing director at Evercore ISI, told Bloomberg after the earnings report. 'That is the first time we heard that on any earnings call this quarter.' On the Chopping Block: May's poor showing fueled a brutal 20% share-price skid, on top of a 30% year-to-date drop before the call. Monday's S&P debut helped reverse the trend somewhat, with Block's stock popping roughly 7% before market close (it's still down around 10% year to date). Meanwhile, some point to increased lending as adding complexity and risk to the company's business, given its client base. 'If we're going into a downturn lending to a consumer cohort that makes less than $100,000 on average, that's not a great way to resuscitate your earnings,' Frisch told Bloomberg. This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive delivering razor sharp analysis and perspective on all things finance, economics, and markets, subscribe to our free The Daily Upside newsletter. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Bloomberg
Jack Dorsey's Tech Vision in Spotlight as Block Enters S&P 500
By Jack Dorsey's Block Inc. joins the coveted S&P 500 on Wednesday, a symbolic milestone that puts the digital finance firm — pursuing everything from mobile banking to Bitcoin mining — under Wall Street's spotlight. For a company that helped pioneer mobile payments, the real test now is turning big ambitions into profit-driving execution: converting Cash App's large user base into full-fledged banking customers, scaling Square's product arsenal, and competing in the cutthroat world of Bitcoin mining.
