Block (NYSE:XYZ) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Block, Inc. (NYSE:XYZ) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $54.53, but opened at $63.09. Block shares last traded at $63.2330, with a volume of 16,041,086 shares traded.

The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.39. Block had a return on equity of 6.67% and a net margin of 5.40%.The business had revenue of $6.25 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Key Block News

Here are the key news stories impacting Block this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management announced cuts of roughly 4,000 roles (nearly half the workforce) and said it will accelerate integrating AI to boost efficiency — a move investors interpreted as materially lowering future operating costs and improving margins. Reuters: Block shares soar as Dorsey leans on AI
• Positive Sentiment: Block reported Q4 results with EPS roughly in line with consensus and revenue up year-over-year (~$6.25B), and management raised 2026 outlook — the combination supported the rally. Zacks: Block Stock Soars
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple firms raised ratings/price targets (TD Cowen, Morgan Stanley, Needham, Oppenheimer, BTIG, Cantor Fitzgerald), signaling analyst confidence that the restructuring and AI investments boost long-term value. Benzinga roundup
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro headwinds and market volatility are present (weak futures / sector rotation), which could cap broader market upside even as Block-specific news drives the stock. Zacks: Oil Surges / Market Moves
• Negative Sentiment: The restructuring will incur substantial one-time costs (reported $450–$500M in severance and charges), which will weigh on near-term cash flow and reported results. WSJ: Layoff costs
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts and commentators caution the boost from cuts and AI may not be durable; Seeking Alpha flagged a downgrade risk, and regulators/law firms (Halper Sadeh) are probing potential fiduciary issues — both represent execution and governance risks. Seeking Alpha: Downgrade concerns PR Newswire: Investor probe

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on XYZ shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Block from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $93.00 in a report on Friday. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Block in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Block from $96.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Mizuho raised their price target on Block from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Block from $105.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.97.

Insider Transactions at Block

In related news, CAO Ajmere Dale sold 1,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.09, for a total transaction of $76,350.57. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 98,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,405,637.08. This trade represents a 1.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Owen Britton Jennings sold 822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.98, for a total value of $52,591.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 242,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,529,097.64. This represents a 0.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 16,797 shares of company stock valued at $940,298 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 10.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Block

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Block by 23.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,626,485 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,887,366,000 after purchasing an additional 12,709,824 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Block by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 16,023,441 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,042,966,000 after buying an additional 4,727,217 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Block by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,406,899 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $934,121,000 after buying an additional 67,560 shares during the period. Sands Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Block by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 11,603,057 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $838,553,000 after buying an additional 1,262,317 shares during the period. Finally, Dragoneer Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Block in the 2nd quarter worth $627,233,000. 70.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Block Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.22. The stock has a market cap of $38.75 billion, a PE ratio of 30.37, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 2.67. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

About Block

Block (NYSE:XYZ) is a financial technology company that builds products and services to facilitate electronic payments, commerce, and consumer finance. Its principal business lines include a seller-focused ecosystem that provides point-of-sale hardware and software, payment processing, invoicing, payroll and lending services, and a consumer-facing platform that offers peer-to-peer payments, banking-like features, and investing. Block’s portfolio also encompasses music streaming and buy-now-pay-later capabilities through businesses acquired to broaden its reach beyond core payments.

The company was founded as Square in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey and later rebranded to Block to reflect a diversified set of businesses across payments, consumer finance, and emerging technologies.