Square Earnings Beat Not Enough for Investors

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 12, 12:08AM EST · Published May 2, 4:30PM EDT

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Square Earnings Beat Not Enough for Investors — © Thinkstock

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) released its most recent quarterly results after markets closed Wednesday. The company said that it had $0.06 in earnings per share (EPS) on $307 million in revenue, compared with consensus estimates that called for $0.06 in EPS on $292.86 million in revenue. The same period from last year had $0.05 in EPS on $203.78 million in revenue.

During the quarter, gross payment volume (GPV) increased 31% year over year to $17.8 billion. This was consistent with 31% year-over-year growth in the fourth quarter of 2017, highlighting continued growth at scale.

The firm continues to see strength from larger sellers. In this quarter, GPV from larger sellers grew 44% year over year and accounted for 47% of total GPV, up from 43% of total GPV last year.

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In April, Square entered into an agreement to acquire Weebly, a San Francisco-based technology company that provides customers with tools to easily build a professional website or online store. Square will combine Weebly’s web presence tools with Square’s in-person and online offerings to create one cohesive solution for sellers of all types, including restaurants, retailers, and service providers.

Weebly will expand Square’s customer base globally and add a new recurring revenue stream. Weebly has millions of customers and more than 625,000 paid subscribers. Square will provide Weebly customers with access to the company’s ecosystem of managed payments, hardware, and software, which complement Weebly’s services, including free website hosting, premium website hosting, online store, and marketing tools. Nearly 40% of Weebly’s paid subscribers are outside the U.S., which will help accelerate Square’s global expansion.

In terms of its guidance for the second quarter, the firm expects to see EPS in the range of $0.09 to $0.11 and revenues in the range of $355 million to $360 million. There are consensus estimates calling for $0.12 in EPS on $334.02 million in revenue for the coming quarter.

Shares of Square closed Wednesday at $48.70, with a consensus analyst price target of $49.39 and a 52-week range of $18.08 to $58.46. Following the announcement, the stock was initially down 0.5% at $46.10 in the after-hours session.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.