Block posts $308.7M Q1 loss, raises 2026 gross-profit outlook

Block reported a $308.7 million net loss for common stockholders in the first quarter and posted $513 million in adjusted profit. The company raised its full-year 2026 gross-profit forecast to $12.33 billion from $12.20 billion. Shares rose about 7% after hours, after gaining roughly 9% year-to-date.

Gross profit for the quarter was $2.91 billion, up 27% from a year earlier. Adjusted operating income rose 56% to $727.7 million. Block attributed the gains to stronger U.S. consumer spending, citing a steady labor market, higher wages, tax refunds and rising gasoline prices after the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

Cash App was a major driver: peer-to-peer payments gross profit increased 38% and consumer lending originations jumped 82% to $17.6 billion. Square’s merchant business also grew faster in the period. Total net revenue was $6.06 billion, with commerce enablement revenue of $2.94 billion, financial solutions at $1.32 billion and bitcoin ecosystem revenue of $1.80 billion, down from $2.33 billion a year earlier.

Costs and one-time items weighed on GAAP results. The company recorded $852 million in restructuring and other charges, including $742.8 million in contingencies and related charges plus $109.5 million in restructuring-related share-based compensation. Those items produced an operating loss of $172.0 million for the quarter.

Additional expense items included $229.2 million in share-based compensation, $96.0 million in depreciation and amortization and $53.2 million in interest expense. Block recorded a $172.8 million remeasurement loss on its bitcoin investment versus a $93.4 million loss a year earlier.

After accounting for noncontrolling interests, Block reported the $308.7 million net loss. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.01 billion, up from $812.8 million a year earlier, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 35% of gross profit.

Management raised the 2026 gross-profit outlook to $12.33 billion and cited strength across Cash App lending and Square merchant volumes. In a statement the company wrote, “We delivered year-over-year gross profit growth of 27% in the first quarter, with growth accelerating across both Cash App and Square.”

Other items in the quarter included $12.8 million of amortization of acquired technology assets, $34.2 million of amortization of customer and other acquired intangibles and $362,000 in acquisition-related and integration costs. Earlier in the year Block announced plans to eliminate more than 4,000 jobs as part of a broader cost reduction and artificial intelligence restructuring program, which is reflected in the current restructuring charges.

Block’s report arrived during a broader earnings period for payments companies when several peers reported resilient card spending and digital payments volume.