Block (NYSE: SQ) gave Wall Street a messy first-quarter report. The payments company beat adjusted profit expectations and lifted its 2026 gross profit forecast, but it also reported a $308.7 million net loss for common stockholders. The Jack Dorsey-led company now expects $12.33 billion in full-year gross profit for 2026. Its old forecast was $12.20 billion. The stock rose 7% after hours, after gaining about 9% this year before the earnings release. Block said, “We delivered year-over-year gross profit growth of 27% in the first quarter, with growth accelerating across both Cash App and Square.” It also said adjusted operating income grew 56% from last year because of “disciplined execution and gross profit strength.” Block raises its 2026 forecast as Cash App lending jumps and Square keeps growing Block benefited from a U.S. consumer that kept spending in the first three months of 2026. The labor market stayed steady, wages kept rising, and tax refunds gave households extra cash. Gasoline prices also climbed after the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which pushed up receipts at service stations. Block’s gross profit rose to $2.91 billion in the March quarter. That was up from $2.29 billion a year earlier. The company also reported $2.54 billion in June 2025, $2.66 billion in September 2025, and $2.87 billion in December 2025. That puts March 2026 above every quarter shown in the latest table. Source: Block Cash App did a lot of the heavy lifting. The peer-to-peer payments unit posted a 38% increase in gross profit. Its consumer lending originations rose 82% to $17.6 billion from last year. Square also grew faster in the quarter, giving Block another lift from merchants. The company did not break out every Square line in the notes provided, but it said growth improved across both core businesses. Block’s report landed during a good earnings season for payments companies. Visa (NYSE: V) and Mastercard (NYSE: MA) also posted strong results, giving investors another sign that card spending and digital payments stayed firm. Block’s adjusted profit was $513 million, or 85 cents per share, for the three months ended March 31. Last year, adjusted profit was $355 million, or 56 cents per share. Adjusted operating income reached $727.7 million, compared with $466.3 million in March 2025. The margin for that figure rose to 25% of gross profit, from 20% last year. Block takes a heavy charge as restructuring costs and bitcoin losses hit the bottom line The tough part was the cost side. Block booked $852 million in restructuring and other charges in the first quarter. That included $742.8 million in contingencies, restructuring, and other charges, plus $109.5 million in restructuring share-based compensation. Earlier this year, Block said it would cut more than 4,000 jobs as part of a wider overhaul tied to artificial intelligence across its operations. The company is trying to get leaner, but the first-quarter numbers show the cost of doing that right now. The company posted an operating loss of $172.0 million in March 2026. That compared with operating income of $329.3 million in March 2025, $484.3 million in June 2025, $409.4 million in September 2025, and $485.4 million in December 2025. Source: Block Block’s amortization of acquired technology assets was $12.8 million. Acquisition-related and integration costs were $362,000. Amortization of customer and other acquired intangibles reached $34.2 million. The net loss figure was $308.6 million after including $86,000 tied to noncontrolling interests. Share-based compensation was $229.2 million. Depreciation and amortization came in at $96.0 million. Interest expense rose to $53.2 million. Block also recorded a $172.8 million remeasurement loss on its bitcoin investment, compared with a $93.4 million loss from the same item last year. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.01 billion, up from $812.8 million last year. Its margin stayed at 35% of gross profit, the same level as March 2025. That margin was 35% in June 2025, 31% in September 2025, and 32% in December 2025. Block’s total net revenue was $6.06 billion. Commerce enablement revenue was $2.94 billion, financial solutions revenue was $1.32 billion, and bitcoin ecosystem revenue was $1.80 billion. That bitcoin line was down from $2.33 billion last year. Total cost of revenue fell to $3.15 billion, with $1.32 billion from commerce enablement costs, $89 million from financial solutions costs, $1.73 billion from bitcoin ecosystem costs, and $13 million from acquired technology amortization. Your bank is using your money. You’re getting the scraps. Watch our free video on becoming your own bank
