<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Square, Inc. SQ reported fourth-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings of 23 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 15%. The bottom line was also higher than management’s guided range of 19-21 cents per share. Further, the figure improved 64.3% on a year-over-year basis but declined 8% sequentially.
Net revenues of $1.31 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.19 billion and came ahead of the guided range of $1.16-$1.18 billion. The top line also improved 41% from the year-ago quarter and 3.7% sequentially.
We note that the company has stopped reporting adjusted revenues from fourth-quarter 2019 onwards.
The top line was driven by Seller ecosystem that contributed $938 million to net revenues, up 26% year over year. Further, robust performance of Cash App, which generated $361 million of net revenues, up 147% year over year, was a major positive. Furthermore, strengthening momentum across Bitcoin and rapid adoption of Cash Card contributed to the results.
Additionally, continued acceleration in gross payment volume (GPV) drove the results.
Notably, the company completed the divestiture of Caviar to DoorDash at the end of October 2019. Caviar had been underperforming and consequently its sale remains a major positive.
Excluding Caviar, net revenues would have exhibited growth of 46% on a year-over-year basis.
Notably, shares of the company surged 6.9% in the pre-market trading following the better-than-expected current quarter and full-year outlook.
We believe the company’s solid momentum across sellers and strong product portfolio is likely to continue aiding performance in the near term.” data-reactid=”11″>Square, Inc. SQ reported fourth-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings of 23 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 15%. The bottom line was also higher than management’s guided range of 19-21 cents per share. Further, the figure improved 64.3% on a year-over-year basis but declined 8% sequentially.
Net revenues of $1.31 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.19 billion and came ahead of the guided range of $1.16-$1.18 billion. The top line also improved 41% from the year-ago quarter and 3.7% sequentially.
We note that the company has stopped reporting adjusted revenues from fourth-quarter 2019 onwards.
The top line was driven by Seller ecosystem that contributed $938 million to net revenues, up 26% year over year. Further, robust performance of Cash App, which generated $361 million of net revenues, up 147% year over year, was a major positive. Furthermore, strengthening momentum across Bitcoin and rapid adoption of Cash Card contributed to the results.
Additionally, continued acceleration in gross payment volume (GPV) drove the results.
Notably, the company completed the divestiture of Caviar to DoorDash at the end of October 2019. Caviar had been underperforming and consequently its sale remains a major positive.
Excluding Caviar, net revenues would have exhibited growth of 46% on a year-over-year basis.
Notably, shares of the company surged 6.9% in the pre-market trading following the better-than-expected current quarter and full-year outlook.
We believe the company’s solid momentum across sellers and strong product portfolio is likely to continue aiding performance in the near term.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Square, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise” data-reactid=”12″>Square, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Square, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Square, Inc. Quote
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Gross Payment Volume” data-reactid=”25″>Gross Payment Volume
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="GPV in the fourth quarter amounted to $28.64 billion beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $28.54 billion. Notably, the figure improved 25% year over year and 1.5% on a sequential basis.
GPV growth was driven by the company’s continued momentum across the larger sellers.
Square defines larger sellers as those that make more than $125,000 of annualized GPV and mid-market sellers as those with annualized revenues of more than $500,000.
GPV from larger sellers contributed 55% to total GPV, up 33% year over year. Further, Square witnessed strong contributions from mid-market sellers, which accounted for 27% of total GPV, up 42% from the year-ago quarter.
This can be attributed to Square’s robust product portfolio and comprehensive ecosystem that aided the company in attracting new sellers to its platform while retaining the existing ones.
Additionally, robust Square Capital aided the company’s momentum across the seller ecosystem. This was a positive. Further, expanding international presence of Square Terminal remained a tailwind.
Top-Line Details
Transaction (63.4% of net revenues): The company generated transaction revenues of $832.2 million, up 25% year over year. Revenue growth within this category can be attributed to strengthening momentum across sellers.
Subscription and services (21.4% of revenues): The company generated $281.4 million revenues from this category, surging 45% from the year-ago quarter. This improvement can be attributed to the strong performance by Cash App, which contributed $183 million to the category’s top line. Further, solid momentum across seller subscription and services products remained positive. Additionally, Square Capital, which facilitated 97,000 originations worth $ 671 million, up 42% from the year-ago quarter, contributed to the results.
Hardware (1.7% of revenues): Square generated $22.3 million of revenues from this business, up 23% year over year. The category’s top line was primarily driven by robust Square Terminal and Square Reader for contactless and chip.
Bitcoin (13.5% of revenues): The company generated $177.6 million revenues from this category, soaring 238.6% on a year-over-year basis. Square continued to benefit in the bitcoin space on the back of growing adoption of Cash App. Notably, without bitcoin revenues, Cash App revenues would have come in at $183 million.
Operating Details
Per management, gross profit as a percentage of net revenues came in 40.1%, contracting 60 basis points (bps) year over year. While Transaction, Subscription and services and Bitcoin generated profit, Hardware category reported loss during the reported quarter.
Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of net revenues was 9%, expanding 30 bps year over year.
Operating expenses came in $509.7 million, surging 33% from prior-year quarter.
Product development expenses were $173.3 million, up 22.2% year over year, primarily owing to growing engineering, data science and design personnel costs.
General and administrative expenses were $118.2 million, up 23.8% from prior-year quarter. This was primarily owing to finance, legal and support personnel costs.
Further, sales and marketing costs were $185.2 million, up 55.2% year over year, due to increase in Cash App peer-to-peer payment transfer and Cash Card issuances.
Balance Sheet
As of Dec 31, 2019, cash and cash equivalents balance was $1.05 billion, up from $612.04 million as of Sep 30, 2019.
Short-term investments were $492.5 million in the reported quarter, down from $557.6 million in the previous quarter.
Long-term debt was $938.8 million, increasing from $928.9 million in previous quarter.
Guidance
For first-quarter 2020, Square expects net revenues between $1.34 billion and $1.36 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $1.20 billion.
Gros profit is anticipated in the range of $550-$560 million.
Adjusted earnings are expected in the range of 16-18 cents per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 14 cents per share.
For 2020, Square expects total net revenues between $5.9 billion and $5.96 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for net revenues is currently pegged at $5.61 billion.
Gros profit is anticipated to lie between $2.44 billion and $2.475 billion.
Adjusted earnings are projected in the range of 90-94 cents per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is currently pegged at 91 cents per share.
We note that mid-points of both earnings and revenue guided ranges for first-quarter 2020 and full year 2020 are above the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Square currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector include Dropbox, Inc. DBX, ManTech International Corp. MANT and Alteryx, Inc. AYX. While Dropbox and ManTech sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Alteryx carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The long-term earnings growth rate for Dropbox, ManTech and Alteryx is currently projected to be 22.2%, 8% and 50.59, respectively.
Today’s Best Stocks from Zacks
Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2019, while the S&P 500 gained an impressive +53.6%, five of our strategies returned +65.8%, +97.1%, +118.0%, +175.7% and even +186.7%.
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2019, while the S&P averaged +6.0% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +54.7% per year.
See their latest picks free >>” data-reactid=”26″>GPV in the fourth quarter amounted to $28.64 billion beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $28.54 billion. Notably, the figure improved 25% year over year and 1.5% on a sequential basis.
GPV growth was driven by the company’s continued momentum across the larger sellers.
Square defines larger sellers as those that make more than $125,000 of annualized GPV and mid-market sellers as those with annualized revenues of more than $500,000.
GPV from larger sellers contributed 55% to total GPV, up 33% year over year. Further, Square witnessed strong contributions from mid-market sellers, which accounted for 27% of total GPV, up 42% from the year-ago quarter.
This can be attributed to Square’s robust product portfolio and comprehensive ecosystem that aided the company in attracting new sellers to its platform while retaining the existing ones.
Additionally, robust Square Capital aided the company’s momentum across the seller ecosystem. This was a positive. Further, expanding international presence of Square Terminal remained a tailwind.
Top-Line Details
Transaction (63.4% of net revenues): The company generated transaction revenues of $832.2 million, up 25% year over year. Revenue growth within this category can be attributed to strengthening momentum across sellers.
Subscription and services (21.4% of revenues): The company generated $281.4 million revenues from this category, surging 45% from the year-ago quarter. This improvement can be attributed to the strong performance by Cash App, which contributed $183 million to the category’s top line. Further, solid momentum across seller subscription and services products remained positive. Additionally, Square Capital, which facilitated 97,000 originations worth $ 671 million, up 42% from the year-ago quarter, contributed to the results.
Hardware (1.7% of revenues): Square generated $22.3 million of revenues from this business, up 23% year over year. The category’s top line was primarily driven by robust Square Terminal and Square Reader for contactless and chip.
Bitcoin (13.5% of revenues): The company generated $177.6 million revenues from this category, soaring 238.6% on a year-over-year basis. Square continued to benefit in the bitcoin space on the back of growing adoption of Cash App. Notably, without bitcoin revenues, Cash App revenues would have come in at $183 million.
Operating Details
Per management, gross profit as a percentage of net revenues came in 40.1%, contracting 60 basis points (bps) year over year. While Transaction, Subscription and services and Bitcoin generated profit, Hardware category reported loss during the reported quarter.
Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of net revenues was 9%, expanding 30 bps year over year.
Operating expenses came in $509.7 million, surging 33% from prior-year quarter.
Product development expenses were $173.3 million, up 22.2% year over year, primarily owing to growing engineering, data science and design personnel costs.
General and administrative expenses were $118.2 million, up 23.8% from prior-year quarter. This was primarily owing to finance, legal and support personnel costs.
Further, sales and marketing costs were $185.2 million, up 55.2% year over year, due to increase in Cash App peer-to-peer payment transfer and Cash Card issuances.
Balance Sheet
As of Dec 31, 2019, cash and cash equivalents balance was $1.05 billion, up from $612.04 million as of Sep 30, 2019.
Short-term investments were $492.5 million in the reported quarter, down from $557.6 million in the previous quarter.
Long-term debt was $938.8 million, increasing from $928.9 million in previous quarter.
Guidance
For first-quarter 2020, Square expects net revenues between $1.34 billion and $1.36 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $1.20 billion.
Gros profit is anticipated in the range of $550-$560 million.
Adjusted earnings are expected in the range of 16-18 cents per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 14 cents per share.
For 2020, Square expects total net revenues between $5.9 billion and $5.96 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for net revenues is currently pegged at $5.61 billion.
Gros profit is anticipated to lie between $2.44 billion and $2.475 billion.
Adjusted earnings are projected in the range of 90-94 cents per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is currently pegged at 91 cents per share.
We note that mid-points of both earnings and revenue guided ranges for first-quarter 2020 and full year 2020 are above the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Square currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector include Dropbox, Inc. DBX, ManTech International Corp. MANT and Alteryx, Inc. AYX. While Dropbox and ManTech sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Alteryx carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The long-term earnings growth rate for Dropbox, ManTech and Alteryx is currently projected to be 22.2%, 8% and 50.59, respectively.
Today’s Best Stocks from Zacks
Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2019, while the S&P 500 gained an impressive +53.6%, five of our strategies returned +65.8%, +97.1%, +118.0%, +175.7% and even +186.7%.
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2019, while the S&P averaged +6.0% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +54.7% per year.
See their latest picks free >>
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ManTech International Corporation (MANT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Square, Inc. (SQ) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Alteryx, Inc. (AYX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Dropbox, Inc. (DBX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research” data-reactid=”27″>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
ManTech International Corporation (MANT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Square, Inc. (SQ) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Alteryx, Inc. (AYX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Dropbox, Inc. (DBX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
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