Breaking News
Get 45% Off 0
Is it finally time to sell Nvidia ahead of earnings?
Read More

Square (SQ) Updates Guidance Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

By Zacks Investment ResearchStock MarketsMar 26, 2020 09:17PM ET
www.investing.com/analysis/square-sq-updates-guidance-amid-coronavirus-outbreak-200519567
Square (SQ) Updates Guidance Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
By Zacks Investment Research   |  Mar 26, 2020 09:17PM ET
Saved. See Saved Items.
This article has already been saved in your Saved Items
 
 
EBAY
+1.34%
Add to/Remove from Watchlist
Add to Watchlist
Add Position

Position added successfully to:

Please name your holdings portfolio
 
STMP
+0.00%
Add to/Remove from Watchlist
Add to Watchlist
Add Position

Position added successfully to:

Please name your holdings portfolio
 
XYZ
-4.67%
Add to/Remove from Watchlist
Add to Watchlist
Add Position

Position added successfully to:

Please name your holdings portfolio
 
TEAM
+0.07%
Add to/Remove from Watchlist
Add to Watchlist
Add Position

Position added successfully to:

Please name your holdings portfolio
 

Square, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) recently provided an update on first-quarter 2020 guidance.

Notably, management has revised its view for the quarter due to the rampant spread of coronavirus pandemic across the globe and announcement of lockdowns in many countries.

The company stated that although it saw 47% year-over-year growth in gross profit in the month of January and February, it witnessed slow growth in March due to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In regard to this pandemic situation, Square lowered its first quarter total net revenue guidance to the range of $1.30-$1.34 billion from previous expectation of $1.34-$1.36 billion. In addition, the company revised its gross profit guidance to the range of $515-$525 million from prior projection of $550-$560 million.

Square, Inc. Price and Consensus

Other Notable Points

The company did not provide any other updates on the remaining financial metrics. It expects adjusted EPS to be lower than the guided range of 16-18 cents.

The company mentioned that the gross payment volume among Square sellers has further decelerated through the last week of March.

In addition, Square has withdrawn its guidance for full-year 2020 due to uncertainties related to COVID-19.

In the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal first-quarter earnings has moved up 21.4% to 17 cents per share. The consensus mark indicates growth of 54.6% from the year-ago figure.

Fourth Quarter at a Glance

The company reported fourth-quarter 2019 non-GAAP earnings of 23 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 15%. Net sales of $1.31 billion (on a non-GAAP basis) beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.19 billion and came ahead of the guided range of $1.16-$1.18 billion. The top line also improved 41% from the year-ago quarter and 3.7% sequentially.

Wrapping Up

Square’s integrated payments and software platform have been gaining significant traction with small and medium sized businesses, thereby driving top-line growth. Newer add-on products and solutions — including Instant Deposit, Caviar and Capital — now represent an increasing proportion of revenues and should drive robust Subscription & Services growth.

With solid management execution, accelerating revenue growth, strong adoption of new products and improving electronic payments market, the stock should thrive in the near future.

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

Square currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other top-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector include Stamps.com Inc. (NASDAQ:STMP) , eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) and Atlassian Corp. (NASDAQ:TEAM) . While Stamps.com and eBay sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Atlassian carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Long-term earnings growth for Stamps.com, Atlassian Corp. and eBay is currently projected at 15%, 22.3% and 11.3%, respectively.

The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All

Last year, it generated $24 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $77.6 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce ""the world's first trillionaires,"" but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.

See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>



eBay Inc. (EBAY): Free Stock Analysis Report

Atlassian Corporation PLC (TEAM): Free Stock Analysis Report

Stamps.com Inc. (STMP): Free Stock Analysis Report

Square, Inc. (SQ): Free Stock Analysis Report

Original post

Zacks Investment Research

Square (SQ) Updates Guidance Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
 

Related Articles

Square (SQ) Updates Guidance Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

Add a Comment

Comment Guidelines

We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:  

  •            Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.

  •           Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed. 

  •           Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.

  • Use standard writing style. Include punctuation and upper and lower cases. Comments that are written in all caps and contain excessive use of symbols will be removed.
  • NOTE: Spam and/or promotional messages and comments containing links will be removed. Phone numbers, email addresses, links to personal or business websites, Skype/Telegram/WhatsApp etc. addresses (including links to groups) will also be removed; self-promotional material or business-related solicitations or PR (ie, contact me for signals/advice etc.), and/or any other comment that contains personal contact specifcs or advertising will be removed as well. In addition, any of the above-mentioned violations may result in suspension of your account.
  • Doxxing. We do not allow any sharing of private or personal contact or other information about any individual or organization. This will result in immediate suspension of the commentor and his or her account.
  • Don’t monopolize the conversation. We appreciate passion and conviction, but we also strongly believe in giving everyone a chance to air their point of view. Therefore, in addition to civil interaction, we expect commenters to offer their opinions succinctly and thoughtfully, but not so repeatedly that others are annoyed or offended. If we receive complaints about individuals who take over a thread or forum, we reserve the right to ban them from the site, without recourse.
  • Only English comments will be allowed.
  • Any comment you publish, together with your investing.com profile, will be public on investing.com and may be indexed and available through third party search engines, such as Google.

Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.

Write your thoughts here
 
Are you sure you want to delete this chart?
 
Post
Post also to:
 
Replace the attached chart with a new chart ?
1000
Your ability to comment is currently suspended due to negative user reports. Your status will be reviewed by our moderators.
Please wait a minute before you try to comment again.
Thanks for your comment. Please note that all comments are pending until approved by our moderators. It may therefore take some time before it appears on our website.
 
Are you sure you want to delete this chart?
 
Post
 
Replace the attached chart with a new chart ?
1000
Your ability to comment is currently suspended due to negative user reports. Your status will be reviewed by our moderators.
Please wait a minute before you try to comment again.
Add Chart to Comment
Confirm Block

Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?

By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.

%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List

Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.

Report this comment

I feel that this comment is:

Comment flagged

Thank You!

Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Continue with Apple
Continue with Google
or
Sign up with Email