When Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) released fourth-quarter financial results after markets closed Wednesday, the mobile payment company said that it had $0.23 in earnings per share (EPS) and $1.31 billion in revenue. The consensus estimates had called $0.21 in EPS and $1.186 billion in revenue, and the same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $0.14 on $933 million in revenue.
During the most recent quarter, gross payment volume (GPV) increased 25% year over year to $28.6 billion. The GPV from larger sellers grew 33% year over year and accounted for 55% of total GPV, up from 51% in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Transaction-based revenue was $832 million, up 25% year over year, and transaction-based profit was $313 million, up 27%.
Subscription and services-based revenue totaled $281 million in the fourth quarter, up 45% year over year. Also, subscription and services-based gross profit came to $231 million, up 63% in the same period. Hardware revenue was $22 million, up 23% year over year, and hardware generated a gross loss of $18 million.
Looking ahead to the first quarter, the company expects to see EPS in the range of $0.16 to $0.18 and revenue between $1.34 billion and $1.36 billion. Consensus estimates call for $0.16 in EPS and $610.26 million in revenue for the quarter.
Square stock traded up about 6% at $81.06 Thursday morning, in a 52-week range of $54.41 to $87.25. The consensus price target is $76.22.
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