NEW YORK, May 6 ― Block Inc, the fintech company run by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, missed market estimates for first-quarter earnings yesterday as demand for bitcoins weakened due to a decline in cryptocurrency prices.
The company’s bitcoin revenue halved in the quarter to US$1.73 billion (RM7.5 billion), hit by lower interest from retail traders as prices for cryptocurrency retreated after a surge last year that was fueled by its growing mainstream acceptance. .
Bitcoin ― the largest cryptocurrency ― has fallen 21% so far this year on risky sentiment over the Russia-Ukraine conflict and a more hawkish outlook for policy tightening from the Reserve federal.
During the quarter, Block completed its $29 billion purchase of Australian pioneer Afterpay Ltd, for $29 billion, creating a transactions giant that rivals banks and tech companies in the fastest-growing business. fastest in the financial sector.
Afterpay contributed US$92 million in gross profit during the period, which was recorded in Square and Cash IUs. This helped Cash App ― a service that allows individuals to send payments, including in bitcoin ― to post a 26% increase in its gross profit.
“We have been focused on bringing Afterpay’s demand generation capabilities to Cash App and are in the early days of building a broader commerce platform,” said CFO Amrita Ahuja. .
She added that Afterpay’s gross merchandise value – the value of all goods sold – is expected to rise 15% in April.
Shares of Block, formerly known as Square, were 10% higher in extended trading.
In the three months ended March 31, Block’s revenue fell 22% to $3.96 billion. The company posted adjusted earnings of 18 cents per share, below analysts’ estimates of 21 cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. ― Reuters