Sushree Mohanty

Mon, Jun 30, 2025, 10:13 AM4 min read

Block (XYZ), formerly known as Square, has been one of the most disruptive fintech players of recent years. The company’s two major payments ecosystems, Square and Cash App, serve small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), consumers, and even cryptocurrency buyers.

However, Block stock has struggled, falling dramatically since its peak, dragged down by rising interest rates, concerns about consistent profitability, increased competition, and broader macroeconomic uncertainty.

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Valued at $41 billion, Block stock is down 20% year-to-date, compared to the broader market index gain of 5.2%.

Amid the macroeconomic uncertainties, let’s find out if Block stock can rebound this year.

Block operates two main ecosystems:

1. Square, which targets businesses, and

2. Cash App, which targets consumers

The company also has newer, evolving ecosystems, such as TIDAL, a music streaming service that Block acquired, to help artists integrate into its financial services ecosystem. Afterpay, a buy now, pay later (BNPL) service that the company acquired in 2022, is now integrated into Cash App. Bitkey is a self-custody wallet designed for Bitcoin (BTCUSD), while Proto provides Bitcoin mining products and services.

Block has shown signs of operational resilience in the first quarter of 2025. Revenue for the quarter stood at $5.7 billion, falling short of the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion and down from $5.9 billion the year before. Management stated during the Q1 earnings call that consumer behavioral shifts during tax refund season resulted in a decrease in discretionary spending (particularly in travel and media), while non-discretionary categories such as groceries and gas remained stable. Despite the temporary headwinds, Block remains optimistic about the second half of 2025, supported by the national rollout of Cash App Borrow, which received FDIC approval in March.

The Square app, however, showed a 7% annual increase in revenue and 9% gross profit growth, aided by a 7.2% increase in GPV, indicating effective go-to-market (GTM) execution and improved banking attach rates. Square’s Q1 momentum was driven by strong share gains in key verticals, success with midmarket sellers, and the continued rollout of 100-plus product innovations.