Jack Dorsey’s payment business, Block Inc., reported its Q4 2022 earnings, which missed expectations but still managed to touch revenue goals. The company’s gross earnings for Q4 increased by 40% YoY to $1.66 billion, while the total gross profit for the entire 2022 was $5.99 billion, up 36% from the previous year. Following the earnings release, Block’s stock price increased by roughly 8.8% in extended trading.
Block’s Cash App generated a gross profit of $848 million in Q4, up 64% from last year, while Block produced a gross profit of $801 million, up 22% from the same period last year. For all of 2022, Block’s gross profit was $3 billion, while gross profit from Cash App was $2.95 billion.
The company noted that Cash App continued to efficiently grow its network, with 51 million monthly transacting actives in December 2022, with two out of three transacting each week on average. According to Block’s balance sheet, it had $7.5 billion in available liquidity at the end of Q4 2022, including $6.9 billion in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, investments in marketable debt securities, and $600 million that could be withdrawn from its revolving credit line.
Despite Block’s positive performance, Mizuho Senior Financial Technology Analyst Dan Dolev expressed his bearish attitude towards crypto, stating, “I think Bitcoin has been a huge problem for Square or Block.” Dolev believes that the excessive focus on Bitcoin has undermined Block’s story, and with less focus on Bitcoin, the story is changing.
At press time, Bitcoin remains just north of $23,800, with a trading volume of $39.8 billion in the past 24 hours. While BTC is down 2.60% on the day, it has still gained nearly 5% since the same time last month. With Block’s positive growth and Cash App’s efficient network expansion, the company is still making strides in the payment industry despite concerns over the impact of Bitcoin on its story.
