What to Expect When Square Reports After the Close

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 11, 10:48AM EST · Published Feb 27, 11:00AM EST

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What to Expect When Square Reports After the Close — © Thinkstock

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter financial results after the markets close on Wednesday. Refinitiv consensus estimates call for $0.14 in earnings per share (EPS) and $454.1 million in revenue. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $0.08 and $282.66 million in revenue.

In its most recent quarter, Square issued guidance calling for EPS in the range of $0.12 to $0.13 and adjusted revenue between $446 million and $451 million for the fourth quarter.

Also worth mentioning was that despite having strong earnings last quarter, the stock still dropped by about 8% in response to the report. This was the result of the stock running about 125% in the past 52 weeks at that point.

While Square’s stock currently is only up 75% in the past 52 weeks, there is always the potential that investors could see earnings as an opportunity for profit taking.

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During the third quarter, gross payment volume (GPV) was $22.5 billion, up 29% year over year. The company continued to see strength from larger sellers. GPV from this group grew 41% year over year and accounted for 52% of total GPV, up from 48% in the third quarter of 2017.

In terms of the third-quarter revenue breakdown, transaction-based revenue was $655 million, up 29% year over year, and subscription and services-based revenue was $166 million, an increase of 155%. Hardware, making up the smallest segment, saw its revenue grow 74% to $18 million.

A few analysts weighed in on Square ahead of the report:

Raymond James has an Underperform rating.
Nomura has a Buy rating with a $110 price target.
Wolfe Research has an Outperform rating.
Piper Jaffray has a Neutral rating.
Tigress Financial has a Buy rating.

Shares of Square were last seen trading at $78.08, in a 52-week range of $43.72 to $101.15. The consensus price target is $78.39.

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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.