Block shares surged more than 25% in extended trading Thursday after it announced layoffs of more than 4,000 employees. The cut is half the workforce, taking Block from over 10,000 to under 6,000. In a shareholder letter, Block called it “a difficult decision” and tied the change to intelligence tools that let a smaller team do more. Cut staff and push intelligence tools Block CEO Jack Dorsey said in the letter that over 4,000 people will leave or enter consultation as headcount drops by nearly half. It said, “Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company,” and said capabilities are “compounding faster every week.” The letter said, “I think most companies are late,” and said that within the next year, most companies will make similar structural changes. It said it wants to do it “on our own terms.” Block said 2025 was strong. Gross profit growth more than doubled from the first quarter to the fourth quarter. It surpassed Rule of 40 in the fourth quarter. It restarted Cash App network growth and increased engagement. It scaled lending products with strong returns. Square’s gross payment volume growth accelerated. The firm posted its strongest new volume added year on record. It shipped its first Proto bitcoin mining units. It increased share repurchases to return more capital to shareholders. Block said 2025 results are starting to reflect faster product work, and it kept its Investor Day targets for Cash App gross profit growth and Square GPV over the next three years. Set four build priorities and demand speed Block said intelligence will sit at the core of decision-making, building trust, managing risk, building products, and serving customers. It said it is moving toward a model where customers can build their own features directly on top of Block capabilities. It said it will run with “extreme focus” and listed four build priorities: customer capabilities, interfaces to compose and deliver those capabilities, proactive intelligence based on deep customer understanding and real-time data, and an intelligence model that orchestrates company operations. It said this supports the Investor Day master plan. On speed, it said a company at the new size has “no excuse for being slow.” It said it will decide faster, ship faster, and learn faster. Report Q4 numbers and lift guidance Block reported fourth quarter 2025 gross profit growth of 24% year over year and said it beat its gross profit guidance. It reported operating income of $485 million and adjusted operating income of $588 million. Block’s net income attributable to common stockholders was $116 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $930 million. GAAP diluted EPS was $0.19. Adjusted diluted EPS was $0.65, up 38% year over year. Square GPV grew 10% year over year in the fourth quarter on a reported and constant currency basis. U.S. GPV grew 7.0% year over year. International GPV grew 24% year over year, or 25% in constant currency. Through February 24, Block said quarter to date Square GPV growth accelerated to over 12% year over year on a reported basis, or 11% in constant currency, with U.S. GPV up over 7.5% and international GPV up over 34%, or 26% in constant currency. Cash App’s monthly transacting active users grew to 59 million in the fourth quarter. Primary banking actives grew 22% year over year to 9.3 million in December, up from 8.3 million in September. Block said it will keep investing in Cash App Green. Cash App gross profit rose 33% year over year, driven by Cash App Borrow, BNPL products, and Cash App Card. Commerce enablement volume grew 17% year over year to $54.7 billion, driven by Cash App Card. The commerce monetization rate increased by 4 basis points year over year, driven by increased Afterpay post-purchase attach rate. Financial solutions gross profit per active grew 57% year over year, driven by Cash App Borrow. Inflows per transacting active growth accelerated to 12% year over year in the fourth quarter, driven in part by more customers bringing their paychecks into Cash App. Block raised its outlook and expects $12.20 billion in 2026 gross profit, up 18% year over year, after giving a 17% view at Investor Day. It expects full-year adjusted operating income of $3.20 billion, a 26% margin, up 54% year over year. For the first quarter, Block expects gross profit of $2.80 billion, up 22% year over year, and adjusted operating income of $600 million, a 21% margin. It expects adjusted diluted EPS of $0.67, up 20% year over year. Block also said the organizational changes should begin to impact adjusted operating income more meaningfully in the second quarter, with the full impact improving profitability in the second half of the year. Get seen where it counts. Advertise in Cryptopolitan Research and reach crypto’s sharpest investors and builders.
