SQ - Square, Inc.
| Previous Close | 74.80 |
| Open | 74.50 |
| Bid | 76.48 x 1000 |
| Ask | 76.53 x 900 |
| Day's Range | 74.24 - 76.80 |
| 52 Week Range | 54.41 - 83.20 |
| Volume | 7,948,903 |
| Avg. Volume | 7,166,730 |
| Market Cap | 32.939B |
| Beta (5Y Monthly) | 3.29 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | N/A |
| EPS (TTM) | -0.10 |
| Earnings Date | Feb 25, 2020 |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | N/A (N/A) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | N/A |
| 1y Target Est | 75.14 |
- American City Business Journals
Five Things for Wednesday, including Square's square feet downtown
In a town with a footwear focus, the death of Kobe Bryant Sunday struck members of Portland's sportswear industry hard. Two longtime players in the industry discussed the basketball great this week. Mark Parker, who recently stepped down as Nike CEO, said he bonded with Bryant over shoe design and a drive for constant improvement.
- Business Wire
Square to Announce Fourth Quarter 2019 Results
Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) will release financial results for the fourth quarter of 2019 on February 26, 2020, after market close. Square will also host a conference call and earnings webcast at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time / 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the same day to discuss these results. The live webcast of the call can be accessed from Square’s Investor Relations website at square.com/investors. A replay will be available at the same website following the call.
- American City Business Journals
Exclusive: Bay Area-based fintech firm leases three floors in downtown Portland high-rise
Exclusive: The San Francisco financial technology and payments company is leasing thousands of square feet of office space inside a downtown Portland office building.
- MarketWatch
There’s only one stock millennials prefer over Amazon and Tesla
Apex Clearing recently unveiled its fourth-quarter Millennial 100 report, which analyzed more than 734,000 portfolios owned by U.S.-based investors with an average age of just over 31 years. Many of the names are probably exactly what you’d expect, along with perhaps a surprise or two.
- Investor's Business Daily
SQ Stock: Institutional Ownership Improves Ahead Of Earnings, Analyst Meeting
Analysts are divided on whether Square revenue growth will reaccelerate with margin improvement following a period of elevated investments. Here's what could make Square stock a buy again.
- Zacks
Will Higher Transactions Processed Aid Visa (V) Q1 Earnings?
Visa's (V) first-quarter fiscal 2020 performance is likely to have benefited from increase in transactions processed.
- Zacks
Higher Trading Volumes to Aid MarketAxess (MKTX) Q4 Earnings
MarketAxess (MKTX) Q4 performance is likely to have benefited from a rise in revenues, partly offset by higher operating expenses.
- MarketWatch
Square's Cash app has room to increase instant-deposit fees by 50%, analyst says
Macquarie analyst Dan Dolev wrote Tuesday that his recent customer survey found a willingness on the part of Square Inc.'s Cash app users to increase instant-deposit pricing by 50%. The survey found that 60% of Cash users would be willing to pay more than 1.5%, the current fee, for the ability to instantly transfer their funds to a bank account. The average price users were willing to pay was 2.3%, Dolev said. "Raising Cash App Instant Deposit pricing from 1.0% to 1.5% in 2018 boosted revenue and helped propel the stock to ~$100," he wrote. "We estimate that a 50bps increase in Instant Deposit pricing could result in $250 million to $300 million or ~10% additional sales growth in 2021 versus consensus estimates." He rates Square's stock at outperform with a $105 target price. The stock is up about 1% in premarket trading Tuesday, and it's up 13% over the past three months as the S&P 500 has gained 6.7%.
- Zacks
Higher Gross Dollar Volume to Aid Mastercard (MA) Q4 Earnings
Mastercard's (MA) Q4 performance is likely to have benefited from increase in gross dollar value, owing to rise in spending across various geographical markets.
- Zacks
Why Square (SQ) is Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates Again
Square (SQ) has an impressive earnings surprise history and currently possesses the right combination of the two key ingredients for a likely beat in its next quarterly report.
- Zacks
Will Visa's (V) Q1 Earnings Benefit From Revenue Growth?
Visa's (V) fiscal Q1 earnings are likely to have benefited from increase in revenues, owing to higher transactions processed.
- Schaeffer's Investment Research
Square Options Sizzle After Bull Note
Credit Suisse is all-in on Square stock
- InvestorPlace
Expect Square to Remain Stuck in Neutral
While the market reaches new highs, Square (NYSE:SQ) stock remains in neutral. Square does trade at a high valuation. But with analysts predicting growth deceleration since August, investors have been less confident in giving this stock an even higher valuation.Source: Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com Is Mr. Market right in discounting Square's future prospects? Is Square a software-as-a-service pioneer like Shopify (NYSE:SHOP)? Or is the company more like PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) or legacy payment processors like Fiserv (NASDAQ:FISV), Visa (NYSE:V) and Mastercard (NYSE:MA)? Back in October, a Barron's article made the case for the latter. In other words, implying more downside for SQ stock.Add in increased competition, and Square does not look like a great opportunity. So, what's the verdict? Let's dive in, and see why SQ stock is most likely going to be stuck in neutral in 2020.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips What Does Fintech Consolidation Mean for SQ Stock?I've before discussed how the competition's heating up for Square. Square's merchant platform faces growing competition from established players like Fiserv. In retail peer-to-peer payments, Square's Cash App goes toe-to-toe with PayPal's Venmo. Square can still expand its merchant and consumer businesses. But customer acquisition costs could skyrocket as the market becomes crowded. * Invest in America's Most Trusted Brands With These 7 Stocks to Buy Square has its work cut out for it. Yet, the company could be an ideal bolt-on acquisition for a larger financial services company. Potential acquirers like Visa or Mastercard come to mind. InvestorPlace contributor Dana Blankenhorn expressed similar sentiments in his Dec. 30 SQ stock analysis. Blankenhorn argued that strategic buyers could pay a 33% premium to its then-trading price of $63.50 per share. In other words, $84.45 per share.Yet, this article came out before Visa's announced acquisition of Plaid. Plaid provides the back-end technology that allows fintech apps like Coinbase and Robinhood to link with your bank account. Why is this recent deal relevant to SQ stock? It could mean Square isn't the type of company deep-pocked payment companies are looking to buy.By owning the key gatekeeper between banks and fintech startups, Visa may not need to buy a company like Square to stay relevant. If businesses and customers pivot toward fintech startups in lieu of legacy payment processors, Visa can still win by owning Plaid. Visa could also leverage its ownership of Plaid to compete with Plaid's existing clients.Square was in talks to buy Plaid in 2018. Unfortunately, they couldn't get their hands on this hot asset. Doing so would've given them in edge against both startup rivals, as well as legacy payment providers. Square Needs Time to Grow Into Its ValuationSQ stock currently trades for 88.7 times estimated 2019 earnings, and 71.5 times estimated 2020 earnings. In contrast, payment rivals PayPal trades for 38 times 2019 earnings, and 33.3 times 2020 earnings. Their other main rival, Fiserv, trades for 30 times 2019 earnings, and 23.6 times projected 2020 earnings. Square's faster growth rate does justify a valuation premium. But with risks growth could decelerate, paying 71.5 forward earnings doesn't look like a smart move.Could Square grow into its valuation? It could. But even Square's high projected earnings growth of 23% implies it would take a while. In the meantime, investors may start giving Square a lower earnings multiple, sending shares to lower levels.So what's the solution? As InvestorPlace's Josh Enomoto recently wrote, the company's Square Capital lending business could move the needle long term. But investors are well aware of Square's intent to become a fintech "financial supermarket." Square could win big with this aggressive growth strategy.But looking at the competitive environment, it seems Square is sandwiched in the middle. On one hand, you have new startups that could outfox Square via innovation. On the other hand, deep-pocketed rivals to use scale to hamper Square's growth plans.That's not to say that Square will be muscled out of business. Yet, growth above expectations seems less likely. With this in mind, it seems SQ stock is more likely to come down valuation-wise than go higher thanks to expectation-exceeding growth. Bottom Line: SQ Stock Could Stay in NeutralSquare has much potential to further disrupt financial services. However, I do not believe the company's valuation premium to payment peers like PayPal is sustainable. If February's earnings call indicates further growth deceleration, SQ stock could fall to a valuation closer to that of peers.Square's move to become a fintech "financial supermarket" further cements the argument that the company is not comparable to a SaaS name like Shopify. Square deserves a growth premium to PayPal, Visa and others, but not a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 71.5.So what's the call? Stay away from SQ stock. The company could surprise come February. But chances are Square shares tread water at best in the coming year.As of this writing, Thomas Niel did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 7 Stocks on the Move Thanks to the Davos World Economic Forum * Invest in America's Most Trusted Brands With These 7 Stocks to Buy * 7 Earnings Reports to Watch Next Week The post Expect Square to Remain Stuck in Neutral appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- Zacks
PayPal (PYPL) to Report Q4 Earnings: What's in the Offing?
PayPal's (PYPL) fourth-quarter 2019 results are likely to reflect gains from portfolio strength.
- Benzinga
Benzinga Pro's Top 5 Stocks To Watch For Fri., Jan. 24, 2020: SWKS, TEAM, KTOV, BYND, SQ
Benzinga Pro's Stocks To Watch For Friday Skyworks (SWKS) - The company reported a Q1 earnings beat and gave stronger-than-expected guidance Thursday afternoon. An item which weighed on the stock more ...
- InvestorPlace
If You’re Not in It for the Long Haul, Take Profits on Shopify Stock Now
Is Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) the future of eCommerce? Investors are increasingly betting that Shopify stock will be the next online star.Source: Jirapong Manustrong / Shutterstock.com A new wave of eCommerce is forming and threatens Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). Shopify demonstrated that fact with its Black Friday sales last holiday season when its platform averaged nearly $1 million in sales every minute. Impressive, to say the least.As Amazon has gotten busy with side projects such as selling groceries and trying to disrupt UPS (NYSE:UPS) and FedEx (NYSE:FDX), they've seemingly given a lot of ground to rivals in their core online retail space. And Jeff Bezos' headline-grabbing behavior has raised eyebrows as well.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsAll in all, Amazon stock is down nearly 10% since its peak last summer. That's terrible in a time when nearly all major tech stocks are flying to new all-time highs, by comparison. * Invest in America's Most Trusted Brands With These 7 Stocks to Buy Shopify has taken advantage of Amazon's weakness. Not only is Shopify growing at a breathtaking rate, it's also building up a narrative that it will be the first company capable of taking the fight to Amazon's core business in years.Unfortunately, for anyone buying today, that narrative has driven SHOP stock to an exceedingly high valuation, and the optimism continues; Shopify hit new all-time highs this week. Shopify: Lock in Trading GainsShopify has gone on an absolutely exhilarating tear over the past year. Since the December 2018 low, Shopify stock has nearly quadrupled. Just over the past two months, the stock is up 50%. This is not normal. As great a company as Shopify may be, its fundamental value simply hasn't increased 50% in two months, or 300% in a year.What's driving the move? M&A chatter may be part of it. Last month, CNBC's Jim Cramer suggested that larger companies were taking a look at acquiring Shopify. Though, with the company's market capitalization now over $50 billion, there's only a few tech companies big enough to buy a company of Shopify's size with ease.Unless a merger hits, there's little to drive the stock price in the short run. The last earnings report was actually rather underwhelming; the share price run seems largely driven on sentiment rather than quickly improving fundamentals. The Company's Long-Term Investment ProspectsTo be clear, Shopify isn't quite a slam dunk buy and hold investment at this price either. There's certainly the possibility that Shopify is able to become the next Amazon. The current $50 billion market cap still leaves massive upside potential in that case. However, the market is fully pricing in near-term gains.In fact, take a look at Morningstar's Dan Romanoff's analysis. He gives Shopify some fairly ambitious assumptions over the next five years, and still finds the stock to be more than 50% overpriced. Romanoff wrote that:"Our fair value estimate for Shopify is $175 per share, which implies an enterprise value/sales multiple of 11 times, adjusted price/earnings multiple of 576 times, and a 0% free cash flow yield. Our forecast includes a continued shift to merchant solutions from subscriptions. We model total revenue growth of 45% in 2019, decelerating to 23% in 2023, representing a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31%."Needless to say, for investors let alone short-term traders, a pullback to $175 would be a rather painful fall from the current $465 price. Great world-changing companies often fall precipitously at one time or another despite being home run investments; Amazon famously lost more than 90% of its value in the dot-com bust. Is Shopify Really a Monopoly in the Making?If Shopify can truly grow into the next Amazon, it's still an easy hold today, despite the sharp potential drop in the short-term. However, there are reasons to be skeptical of just how powerful Shopify's position is.A recent article in ModernRetail noted how Shopify's platform has had notable issues scaling, and sometimes crashes when well-known internet personalities such as Jeffree Star and Shane Dawson have launched stores on Shopify.That author quoted an eCommerce agency CEO who pointed out Shopify's short-comings:"There's a big gap with what [Shopify's] enterprise offering is and other enterprise offerings out there," the CEO said. "It's definitely not true enterprise […] Once you're doing $10 million to $20 million online and once you have a certain amount of complexity, it becomes very difficult to scale on Shopify," they said. Shopify is a nice plug-and-play solution for up-and-coming e-commerce ventures. But what happens if the company's biggest customers graduate to more sophisticated platforms like WooCommerce or Magento?It's the Square (NYSE:SQ) problem all over again - attracting tons of small business is great, but if firms leave your platform for greener pastures as they get bigger, overall revenue growth could come up well short of expectations. Shopify Stock Bottom LineRealize that Shopify's share price has run far ahead of its current value today. If you're a swing trader, there's no reason to stay long here. Sell into the jaw-dropping 50% in two months rally. The stock market won't keep going up every day forever, there's nothing wrong with turning some paper gains into real cash while the market is euphoric.If you're a long-term investor and are willing to hold Shopify for the next five or ten years through thick and thin, then there's still a solid case for hanging on to its shares today. If the company keeps up its current growth trajectory, today's valuation will hardly matter. That's a huge if, though.For a lower-risk play on second-wave eCommerce, consider some of the Software-as-a-Service companies that provide back-end support to platforms like Shopify.Avalara (NYSE:AVLR), for example, provides sales tax collection and accounting functions to online sellers and has built-in support to platforms like Shopify and Wix (NASDAQ:WIX). Avalara is growing at 40%/year and has a much more palatable valuation at least for the time being.At the time of this writing, Ian Bezek owned FDX and AVLR shares. You can reach him on Twitter at @irbezek. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 7 Stocks on the Move Thanks to the Davos World Economic Forum * Invest in America's Most Trusted Brands With These 7 Stocks to Buy * 7 Earnings Reports to Watch Next Week The post If You're Not in It for the Long Haul, Take Profits on Shopify Stock Now appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- Zacks
Will Mastercard (MA) Q4 Earnings Gain From Higher Spending?
Mastercard's (MA) Q4 earnings are likely to have benefited from higher switched transactions, increase in cross-border volume and gross dollar volume, and gains from acquisitions.
- Zacks
Square (SQ) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
Square (SQ) closed at $69.29 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.87% move from the prior day.
- InvestorPlace
Overvalued Shopify Stock Continues to Prove Bears Wrong
In this market, the easiest way to miss out on gains has been to argue that a stock is "too expensive," and Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) has been no exception. Shopify stock has looked expensive for years -- but it has been one of the market's best plays over that stretch.Source: Beyond The Scene / Shutterstock.com Indeed, Shopify stock has almost quadrupled from December 2018 lows. It's gained over 2,800% from its 2015 initial public offering price of $17. For much of its time on the public markets, skeptics -- myself included -- have decried its valuation and believed a reversal was imminent.Of course, SHOP stock isn't alone. Particularly in tech, there is no shortage of stocks that have climbed the proverbial "wall of worry" relative to valuation: Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) are just three of the most well-known examples.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsAnd for these names, multibagger gains aren't a sign that the market "isn't paying attention" or "doesn't care about valuation." Yes, valuations have been, and still are, seemingly expensive. But the growth potential for these companies is enormous. * 10 Stocks to Buy as the 2020 Presidential Election Approaches In fact, in many cases, the bulls are paying closer attention to valuation than the bears, for instance by focusing on underlying profitability at Amazon instead of dismissing the stock based on near-term price-to-earnings multiples.The catch with Shopify stock is that even taking the detailed perspective and giving the company credit for its impressive performance, it's increasingly difficult to support a share price nearing $500. This is a wonderful business, and it's worth repeating: bears and skeptics have consistently been wrong about this stock. Perhaps that will continue -- but at some point, SHOP has to slow down. Right? Shopify's FundamentalsJust looking at the near-term fundamentals, Shopify stock looks like a classic bubble. The company's guidance for 2019 projects roughly $1.55 billion in revenue and an adjusted operating income of $27 million to $37 million.We'll assume, as has historically been the case, that Shopify is guiding conservatively, and peg 2019 revenue at $1.6 billion and operating profit at $50 million. Using those figures and backing out its roughly $2.7 billion in cash and investments, SHOP stock trades at about 1,000x operating profit and over 30x sales on a trailing basis.Those are staggering multiples. But they don't mean that Shopify stock is a sell per se. Again, it's shortsighted to dismiss a stock based solely on trailing multiples. Although it's also a bad idea to buy a stock simply because of a low price-to-earnings or price-to-sales ratio.But that's what those multiples mean. Even taking the long view, even giving Shopify credit for perfect execution, it's simply difficult to grow into that kind of valuation. The Long-Term ViewSHOP bulls have to believe the stock can at least double over the next decade. Such performance would suggest annualized returns just above 7%. It's easy to forget in this market, but 7% annual appreciation is excellent, particularly when 10-year Treasury bonds are yielding less than 2%.Roughly speaking, Shopify has to reach a market capitalization over $100 billion to hit that bogey. That in turn suggests at least $2 billion in net income in 2029, giving credit for a 50x P/E multiple at that point.Again, Shopify is generating $1.6 billion in revenue this year. That figure will rise exponentially, of course. It could rise tenfold over the decade, in fact: that would require a roughly 26% annualized growth rate. Wall Street sees revenue increasing 36% in 2020, and the company's move into fulfillment offers another top line boost. Growth will slow over time, but there's certainly a path to $16 billion in 2029 revenue.But how profitable will it be? Even assuming revenue does grow to $16 billion, Shopify needs operating margins around 15% to hit that $2 billion after-tax target. That too, is doable -- perhaps. Shopify's operating margins this year probably will be close to 3%. Sales and marketing spend, currently 29% of revenue on a non-GAAP basis, will decline as a percentage of sales as the top line grows. So will general and administrative expenses.All that said, gross margins here are 56% so far this year due to the heavy proportion of payment processing revenue. Software plays can get operating margins over 20%, but Shopify is only a partial software play. The payment processing business simply doesn't scale the same way software businesses do. Shopify might get to 15% operating margins -- but it's not guaranteed to get much further. Another Way to Look at Shopify StockLooking at that model, it's simply difficult to justify Shopify stock's current price. 26% annual revenue growth for a decade would be a stunning achievement. 15% operating margins would be an impressive accomplishment (though, to be fair, PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ:PYPL) has an adjusted operating margin nicely past 20%). Even the 50x out-year P/E multiple is hardly conservative. Move that figure to 30x and Shopify stock returns less than 5% a year.But even coming from a different angle, the rise in SHOP stock is problematic. In trying to make the fundamental case last year, I noted that market share figures relative to Amazon and eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) did suggest potential upside, or at least supported what was then a stock price around $375. SHOP has gained another 25%-plus since then. Its valuation now is nearly double that of eBay and Square (NYSE:SQ).And while it's tough to model much upside, downside hasn't been modeled in either. We still have zero idea what Shopify looks like in a recession -- but we do know that small businesses, still the company's core clients, are the first to struggle in a macro downturn. Even that issue aside, growth is likely to slow if the economy does.Even a market downturn can have an effect. SHOP tumbled in 2018's fourth quarter, declining over 25% in a matter of weeks starting in late August.Again, the answer to all these concerns is simple: they've existed in some form for years now, and Shopify stock keeps climbing. The bears have been wrong, while bulls have profited greatly. Perhaps that will continue for the time being -- but I'm skeptical it will continue forever.As of this writing, Vince Martin has no positions in any securities mentioned. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 10 Stocks to Buy as the 2020 Presidential Election Approaches * 5 Dividend Stocks With Low Payout Ratios and High Yields * 4 Post-Holiday Retail Stocks Still Worth a Look The post Overvalued Shopify Stock Continues to Prove Bears Wrong appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- Yahoo Finance
Why neighborhood social network Nextdoor banned national politics
Nextdoor, a ZIP code-curated and vetted social network, does not allow discussions about U.S. politics — even during an election year. Here's why.
- Benzinga
100 Thieves Opens Esports Training Compound, Gives Naming Rights To Cash App
Esports company 100 Thieves, a project of the rapper Drake and former professional "Call of Duty" player Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag, has opened a training compound and headquarters in Los Angeles in hopes of gaining an advantage in competitive esports. The company rolled out video Wednesday of its new 100 Thieves Cash App Compound, a 15,000-square foot facility where its major teams can train, though the space has actually been in use for about a month. According to The Verge, it's the largest esports facility in the country. How Is Square (NYSE: SQ) Involved?
- American City Business Journals
100 Thieves opens largest esports team facility in U.S.
The 100 Thieves Cash App Compound comprises 15,000 square feet with spaces for esports training, video game livestream broadcasting, content production and more.
- American City Business Journals
Intel's new look: Andy Bryant steps down as board chair
For the first time in seven years, chip giant Intel Corp. has a new chairman of the board after Andy Bryant announced his departure last spring. At its Jan. 15 meeting, the board elected lead independent director Omar Ishrak chairman. Ishrak is the chairman and CEO of medical technology company Medtronic.
- American City Business Journals
Sunnyvale analytics unicorn checks another pre-IPO box by hiring Square, PayPal vet as CFO
The appointment comes about six months after ThoughtSpot nearly doubled its valuation to $1.95 billion in a $248 million funding. It also hit an annual run rate last year of about $100 million, another customary prerequisite to a tech IPO.
- Zacks
What's in Store for Synchrony Financial (SYF) Q4 Earnings?
Synchrony Financial's (SYF) fourth-quarter results are likely to reflect lower revenue generation.
