Purchase of ~$300K from Hims $HIMS (-7,12 %)
Sale of ~$250K from Schwab $SCHW (-4,84 %)
Purchase of ~$250K from Block $SQ (-3,87 %)
Sale of ~$250K from Monster $MNST (-1,22 %)
Purchase of ~$250K from Microsoft $MSFT (-2,62 %)
Postes
192Purchase of ~$300K from Hims $HIMS (-7,12 %)
Sale of ~$250K from Schwab $SCHW (-4,84 %)
Purchase of ~$250K from Block $SQ (-3,87 %)
Sale of ~$250K from Monster $MNST (-1,22 %)
Purchase of ~$250K from Microsoft $MSFT (-2,62 %)
Getting a foot in the door....
Block $SQ (-3,87 %) Letter to shareholders Q4 2024 - Summary
Corporate strategy and developments
Block made extensive structural changes in 2024 to accelerate growth and product development. Square's technological foundation has been overhauled, transforming the platform from a payment system to a complete commerce platform. This realignment enables faster development of new features for online and offline commerce and gives sellers more flexibility with orders and customer service.
Onboarding of new sellers has been improved by streamlining the registration process and introducing the new Square Point of Sale app. This app combines the functions of five separate applications into one and has already been adopted by half of the new sellers. Existing sellers are also being gradually migrated to the new platform.
In parallel, Block has further developed the Cash App to offer a leading banking solution. New features include high-interest savings accounts, free ATM withdrawals, the ability to invest salary payments in stocks or Bitcoin, overdraft protection and a free tax filing option. In addition, Cash App Borrow has been expanded to a loan volume of USD 9 billion to provide small, easily repayable loans.
Block has also optimized its organizational structure to enable more efficient collaboration between Square and Cash App.
Q4 2024 financial results
Financial metrics show strong growth:
Strategic goals for 2025 and beyond
Block has three main goals for the coming year:
1. expanding access to the global economy: Block wants to connect sellers, buyers and communities more closely through a "neighborhood network". Small businesses and restaurants in particular are to be supported by Square.
2. increasing openness and flexibility for customers: Block is increasingly focusing on open source technologies and developing new solutions for cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin mining chips and a non-custodial bitkey wallet.
3. automation and artificial intelligence: The use of AI-supported tools is intended to reduce manual tasks in order to increase efficiency for customers and internal teams.
Outlook for 2025
Block expects gross profit growth of at least 15 % year-on-year.
The expected figures for the year:
Gross profit: USD 10.22 billion
Adjusted operating income: USD 2.1 billion (21% margin)
Target for 2026:
Achieve the "Rule of 40" (sum of gross profit growth and operating margin).
Investments in sales and marketing will be increased, especially for Square and Cash App The introduction of Afterpay for the Cash App Card and the expansion of Cash App Borrow should further accelerate growth.
Overall, Block plans to establish itself as a leading provider of financial technologies by integrating commerce, payment and banking services.
Block $SQ (-3,87 %) Letter to shareholders Q4 2024 - Summary
Corporate strategy and developments
Block made extensive structural changes in 2024 to accelerate growth and product development. Square's technological foundation has been overhauled, transforming the platform from a payment system to a complete commerce platform. This realignment enables faster development of new features for online and offline commerce and gives sellers more flexibility with orders and customer service.
Onboarding of new sellers has been improved by streamlining the registration process and introducing the new Square Point of Sale app. This app combines the functions of five separate applications into one and has already been adopted by half of the new sellers. Existing sellers are also being gradually migrated to the new platform.
In parallel, Block has further developed the Cash App to offer a leading banking solution. New features include high-interest savings accounts, free ATM withdrawals, the ability to invest salary payments in stocks or Bitcoin, overdraft protection and a free tax filing option. In addition, Cash App Borrow has been expanded to a loan volume of USD 9 billion to provide small, easily repayable loans.
Block has also optimized its organizational structure to enable more efficient collaboration between Square and Cash App.
Q4 2024 financial results
Financial metrics show strong growth:
Strategic goals for 2025 and beyond
Block has three main goals for the coming year:
1. expanding access to the global economy: Block wants to connect sellers, buyers and communities more closely through a "neighborhood network". Small businesses and restaurants in particular are to be supported by Square.
2. increasing openness and flexibility for customers: Block is increasingly focusing on open source technologies and developing new solutions for cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin mining chips and a non-custodial bitkey wallet.
3. automation and artificial intelligence: The use of AI-supported tools is intended to reduce manual tasks in order to increase efficiency for customers and internal teams.
Outlook for 2025
Block expects gross profit growth of at least 15 % year-on-year.
The expected figures for the year:
Gross profit: USD 10.22 billion
Adjusted operating income: USD 2.1 billion (21% margin)
Target for 2026:
Achieve the "Rule of 40" (sum of gross profit growth and operating margin).
Investments in sales and marketing will be increased, especially for Square and Cash App The introduction of Afterpay for the Cash App Card and the expansion of Cash App Borrow should further accelerate growth.
Overall, Block plans to establish itself as a leading provider of financial technologies by integrating commerce, payment and banking services.
🔹 Adjusted EPS: $0.71 (Est. $0.87) 🔴
🔹 Gross Profit: $2.31B (Est. $2.33B) 🟡; UP +14% YoY
🔹 Net Income: $1.95B (Est. $549.89M) 🟢
🔹 Adj EBITDA: $757M (Est. $738.20M) 🟢
Q1'25 Outlook:
🔹 Gross Profit: $2.32B (Est. $2.39B) 🔴; UP +11% YoY
🔹 Adjusted Operating Income: $430M (19% margin)
FY25 Outlook:
🔹 Gross Profit: $10.22B (Est. $10.25B) 🟡; UP +15% YoY
🔹 Adjusted Operating Income: $2.1B (21% margin)
🔹 Rule of X: 35.5%
Q4 Cash App:
🔹 Gross Profit: $1.38B; UP +16% YoY
🔹 Monthly Transacting Actives: 57M; UP +2% YoY
🔹 Cash App Card Monthly Actives: 25M; UP +9% YoY
🔹 Total Inflows: $71.1B; UP +12% YoY
🔹 Gross Profit per User: $76; UP +13% YoY
🔹 BNPL GMV: $10.3B; UP +19% YoY
🔹 BNPL Gross Profit: $298M; UP +23% YoY
Q4 Square:
🔹 Gross Profit: $924M; UP +12% YoY
🔹 Total Gross Payment Volume (GPV): $58.9B; UP +10% YoY
🔹 US GPV Growth: +6.9%
🔹 International GPV Growth: +25%
🔹 International Gross Profit: $129M; UP +22% YoY
Q4 Operating Metrics:
🔹 Operating Income: $13M (1% margin)
🔹 Adjusted Operating Income: $402M (17% margin)
🔹 Product Development Expense: $2.91B; UP +7% YoY
🔹 Sales & Marketing Expense: $1.98B; DOWN -1.7% YoY
🔹 General & Admin Expense: $2.15B; DOWN -2.7% YoY
🔹 Transaction & Loan Losses: $794M; UP +20% YoY
🔹 Bitcoin Impairment Losses: $0
Balance Sheet (as of December 31, 2024):
🔹 Cash & Cash Equivalents: $8.08B (Est. $8.43B)
🔹 Total Assets: $36.78B
🔹 Total Liabilities: $15.54B (Est. $17.46B) 🟢
🔹 Stockholders’ Equity: $21.23B (Est. $20.25B) 🟢
Cash Flow Highlights:
🔹 Net Cash from Operations: $1.71B (Est. $13.76M) 🟢
🔹 Adjusted Free Cash Flow: $2.07B (Est. $(374.55)M) 🟢
🔹 Investing Activities: $(649.9)M
🔹 Financing Activities: $1.95B
I'm curious to see how $SQ (-3,87 %) react to the releases and hope that the block will rise again 👏
How do you see it?
I think half of the GQ community (including me) will probably be particularly interested in $NU (-2,16 %) but there are still other exciting companies like
$ANET (-9,79 %)
$CDNS (-4,11 %)
$SQ (-3,87 %)
$BKNG (-6,59 %)
$INOD (-8,69 %)
$MELI (-1,08 %)
$WMT (-1,54 %) who will present their figures 😬
THE BIG QUESTION NEXT WEEK IS STILL
UP📈 or DOWN📉 for $NU (-2,16 %) ?
Another $SQ (-3,87 %) bought, if it goes down further I'll go back in at 78
The Block item $SQ (-3,87 %) (Square & Cash App) was expanded to 100 shares.
I am now invested in a large number of fintechs ($PYPL, (-7,18 %)
$SOFI, (-10,97 %)
$GPN, (-8,24 %)
$SQ) (-3,87 %) because I am convinced that at least one of these stocks will make a moon landing. They are not all really comparable, but each has the potential to be an X-Bagger 😎🤞🏼
First position of $SQ (-3,87 %) Block opened
Back before Corona, when the company was only called Square, I wanted to get in and could only look at the price. Well, then the company was smashed on the stock market and the price took a dive.
The consolidation then began in 2022 at around 60 dollars (at the EMA 200 / M-Chart). The November candle (11/2024) ran above the EMA 50 and in December it also opened above it. That was my moment to buy. If the 100 dollars are now also broken, there is great potential to run towards old highs. Remains exciting 😎💲🤞🏼
The company is represented globally in various countries and anyone who watches Formula 1 has Cash app (owned by Block) as a sponsor of the Racing Bulls.
Before 2018, there were 7 million users, then 30 million users were reported in 2020 and by 2024 there will be more than 50 million active users.
Here is a brief overview of Block's main products:
Bitcoin and blockchain: Block is heavily involved in cryptocurrencies. A decentralized Bitcoin-based financial platform is being developed through the TBD business unit, while Spiral supports open source projects in the Bitcoin space.
$V (-2,64 %) and $MA (-3,47 %) currently dominate global payment processing, but new trends and players might reshape the landscape.
What do you think? Which players have the potential to fill these spots?
—
Paypal - $PYPL (-7,18 %)
Square - $SQ (-3,87 %)
Adyen - $ADYEN (-7,26 %)
Alipay - $BABA (+1,12 %)