Block, Inc.

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This article is about the financial services company named Block, Inc.. For payments system it operates, see Square (payment system).
Block, Inc.
Block 2021.svg
Type of businessPublic
Traded as
FoundedFebruary 14, 2009; 13 years ago (2009-02-14), St. Louis, Missouri
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
,
United States
Area servedUnited States, Canada, Australia, Japan, United Kingdom, Ireland
OwnerJack Dorsey (24.4%)
Founder(s)
Key people
  • Jack Dorsey (Chairman, CEO)
  • Jim McKelvey (Director)
  • Amrita Ahuja (CFO)
Industry
ProductsPoint of sale terminals and auxiliary equipment, debit cards
ServicesCash App
Square
RevenueIncrease US$9.49 billion (2020)
Operating incomeIncrease US$45.18 million (2020)
Net incomeIncrease US$213.10 million (2020)
Total assetsIncrease US$9.87 billion (2020)
Total equityIncrease US$2.68 billion (2020)
Employees5,477 (2020)
SubsidiariesWeebly
Tidal
Afterpay
URLblock.xyz
[2][3][4][5]

Block, Inc., formerly Square, Inc., is an American financial services and digital payments company based in San Francisco, California. The company was founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey and launched its first platform in 2010. It has been traded as a public company on the New York Stock Exchange since November 2015 with the ticker symbol SQ.

Prior to December 10, 2021, the company was named Square, Inc.[6][7] The company's namesake product for small businesses is still titled "Square".[8] Square is a payments platform aimed at small and medium businesses that allows them to accept credit card payments and use tablet computers as payment registers for a point-of-sale system. Block has a number of other businesses. Cash App is a mobile app that allows monetary transfers both among users and between users and businesses. Afterpay is a buy-now-pay-later service. Weebly is a web hosting service. TIDAL is a subscription-based music, podcast and video streaming service that offers audio and music videos.

History[]

The original inspiration for Square occurred to Jack Dorsey in 2009 when Jim McKelvey (a friend of Dorsey) was unable to complete a $2,000 sale of his glass faucets and fittings because he could not accept credit cards.[9]

Co-founders Dorsey—who also co-founded Twitter—and McKelvey began developing the company out of a small office in St. Louis.[10]

The name "Square" derives from the company's square-shaped card readers.[11][12]

In October 2020, Square put approximately 1% of their total assets ($50 million) in Bitcoin (4,709 bitcoins), citing Bitcoin's "potential to be a more ubiquitous currency in the future" as their main reasoning.[13] The company purchased an additional $170 million worth of Bitcoin (approximately 3,318 bitcoins) in February 2021, bringing Square's total holdings to almost $500 million in Bitcoin (total approximately 8,027 bitcoins).[14]

On March 2, 2021, Square reached an agreement to acquire majority ownership in Tidal. Square will pay $297 million in cash and stock for Tidal, with Jay-Z joining the company's board of directors. Jay-Z, as well as other artists who currently own stock in Tidal will remain stakeholders.[15][16][17]

On December 1, 2021, Square announced that it would change its company name to Block, Inc. on December 10.[18][19] Outlets noted that the change occurred soon after Facebook, Inc. changed its name to Meta.[18] The change was announced shortly after Dorsey resigned as CEO of Twitter.[20]

On December 10, 2021, the name change took effect, and Square, Inc. became Block.[21] However, on December 16, less than a week into the rebrand, H&R Block, sued the company for trademark infringement, claiming that the name seeks to confuse customers by misappropriating the Block brand name, which H&R owns.[22]

On January 31, 2022, Block completed its acquisition of Afterpay.[23]

Products and Services[]

Square[]

Main article: Square (payment system)

Square is a payments platform aimed at small and medium businesses that allows them to accept credit card payments and use tablet computers as payment registers for a point-of-sale system.

Cash App[]

Main article: Cash App

Launched in October 2013, Cash App (formerly Square Cash) allows person-to-person money transfer via the app or website.[24] Cash App reported 36 million monthly active Cash App customers as of December 2020.[25]

In March 2015, the firm introduced Square Cash for businesses, which includes the ability for individuals, organizations, and business owners to use a unique username, known as a $cashtag, to send and receive money.[26] In January 2018, the app expanded to allow users to buy and sell bitcoin.[27] The company issues a debit card to be used with the account.[28] Cash App is currently testing new features to allow users to borrow up to $200.[29]

Afterpay[]

Main article: Afterpay

Afterpay is a buy-now-pay-later service.

Weebly[]

Main article: Weebly

Weebly is a web hosting service.

TIDAL[]

Main article: Tidal (service)

TIDAL is a Norwegian subscription-based music, podcast and video streaming service that offers audio and music videos.

Financials[]

Square received angel investments from Marissa Mayer, Kevin Rose, Biz Stone, Dennis Crowley, Shawn Fanning, MC Hammer, and Esther Dyson.[citation needed] Since then, it has raised several additional rounds of funding:

The company's valuation in October 2014 was $6 billion.[32]

On November 19, 2015, Square had its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange with an initial valuation of $2.9 billion, down by more than half from its last valuation in October 2014 at $6 billion. The series E funding shares had different rights than the common shares sold at the IPO, therefore the $6 billion 'valuation' from october 2014 is wrong. Although the firm was yet to make a profit as of 2015 and had lost $420 million since 2012, it had decreased its losses from 44% of revenues to 16% in the six months leading up to its IPO.[33]

For the fiscal year 2018, Square reported losses of US$38 million, with an annual revenue of US$3.299 billion, an increase of 49.0% over the previous fiscal cycle.

Year[34] Revenue
in mil. US$ 		Net income
in mil. US$ 		Total assets
in mil. US$ 		Employees
2012 203 −85 0
2013 552 −104 318
2014 850 −154 542 1,282
2015 1,267 −212 895 1,449
2016 1,709 −172 1,211 1,853
2017 2,214 −63 2,187 2,338
2018 3,299 −38 3,281 3,349
2019 4,714 375 4,551 3,835
2020 9,498 213 9,870 5,477

Business[]

Operations[]

Block was co-founded by Twitter creator Jack Dorsey under the name Square.[35] Dorsey also serves as chief executive officer and Amrita Ahuja serves as chief financial officer.[35][36]

Block's office is in San Francisco.[37] The firm has more than 5,000 employees.[38]

Block's payment platform, Square, has been available in the United States since 2010 and the company launched in Canada at the end of 2012.[39]

In March 2020, Square implemented remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020, Square announced that some of its workers would be allowed to be permanent remote workers.[40]

Financing and acquisitions[]

In August 2014, Victory Park Capital, an asset management firm, invested in Square Capital.[41]

In May 2015, Square Capital raised additional funding, with Victory Park Capital tripling its initial investment.[42]

As of 2016, Square had loaned $1 billion to companies through Square Capital since the program's inception.[43]

On November 19, 2015, Square Inc. became a public company via an initial public offering.[44][45]

On April 19, 2018, Square announced that it had acquired Zesty, a food delivery service that caters to corporate offices.[46][47] On April 26, 2018, Square announced that it would acquire Weebly, a website-building service, for $365 million.[48]

In May 2019, Square announced that it had acquired Eloquent Labs, an artificial intelligence startup helping improve the customer service experience.[49]

In February 2020, Square announced that it had acquired Dessa, a Toronto-based deep learning company.[50] In November 2020, Square announced it was acquiring Credit Karma Tax, a free do-it-yourself tax-filing service, from Credit Karma for $50 million and would make it a part of its Cash App unit.[51]

In March 2021, Square announced it was acquiring a significant majority in music streaming platform TIDAL for $293 million in a deal of stock and cash.[52] In the same month, Square's Q1 sales surged 266% as transactions jumped amid economic recovery.[53]

In August 2021, Square announced its acquisition of Afterpay, a company offering a "buy now, pay later" service. Square will pay out $29 billion in stock and the process is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2022.[54]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Clifford, Catherine (2020-05-21). "Twitter billionaire Jack Dorsey on giving away his money: 'If someone is in pain, I am in pain'". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  2. ^ "Square, Inc. Annual Form 10-K (2019)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 26, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  3. ^ "Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O'Tierney Dies at 35". Bloomberg News. March 2, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  4. ^ "Wall Street Breakfast: Square, Match Group Ready For Market Debut". Seeking Alpha. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  5. ^ "Inside Square's Massive New San Francisco Headquarters". Mashable. October 11, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  6. ^ "Form 8-K Report of Block, Inc". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. December 10, 2021.
  7. ^ "Jack Dorsey's Square changes corporate name to Block". CNBC. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  8. ^ Browning, Kellen (1 December 2021). "Square, Jack Dorsey's payments company, changes its name to Block". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Square Brings Credit Card Swiping to the Mobile Masses, Starting Today". Fast Company. May 11, 2010. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  10. ^ "Why Square's New Office Is A Really Big Deal for St. Louis". St. Louis Magazine. 2015-09-15.
  11. ^ "Square's name and design were changed by a lunch at Apple". thenextweb.com. 2011-05-26. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  12. ^ "Square Was Almost Named Squirrel Until Dorsey Talked To Apple". pulse2.com. May 26, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  13. ^ Oliver Effron. "Square just bought $50 million in bitcoin". CNN. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  14. ^ Bursztynsky, Jessica (2021-02-23). "Square buys $170 million worth of bitcoin". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  15. ^ "Square, Inc. to buy majority of Tidal and put Jay-Z on board". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  16. ^ Murphy Kelly, Samantha. "Square to acquire majority stake in music service Tidal for $297 million". CNN. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  17. ^ Singleton, Micah. "Square Is Acquiring a Majority Stake in Tidal for $297M". Billboard. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  18. ^ a b Vigna, Paul (2021-12-01). "Square Changes Name to Block, Days After CEO Jack Dorsey Leaves Twitter". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  19. ^ "Square, Inc. Changes Name to Block" (Press release). Block, Inc. 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01 – via Business Wire.
  20. ^ Wagner, Kurt (1 December 2021). "Square Changes Name to Block in Nod to New Businesses". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
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  22. ^ "H&R Block Is Suing Jack Dorsey's Block Over Name Change". Bloomberg. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
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  29. ^ "Square's Cash App tests money borrowing for up to $200". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
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  31. ^ Isaac, Mike (October 5, 2014). "Square Raises $150 Million at a $6 Billion Valuation". The New York Times.
  32. ^ Rao, Leena (October 5, 2014). "Square Closes $150 Million Round At $6 Billion Valuation". Fortune.
  33. ^ "Square's IPO: Swiped". The Economist. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  34. ^ "Investor Relations". Block, Inc. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  35. ^ a b "About Square". Square Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
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  42. ^ "Square secures funding from new and existing investors to expand its popular small business financing program" (Press release). Square, Inc. May 12, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  43. ^ Yeung, Ken (1 November 2016). "Square has provided more than $1 billion in loans to businesses". VentureBeat. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
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  45. ^ Soper, Alex Barinka alexbarinka Spencer. "Square Files for IPO as CEO Dorsey Juggles Twitter Revamp". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2015-10-16.
  46. ^ Bary, Emily. "Square acquires food-delivery platform Zesty to boost office-catering business". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  47. ^ Carson, Biz. "Square's Delivery Business Caviar Moves Into Corporate Catering With Acquisition Of Zesty". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  48. ^ Balakrishnan, Anita (2018-04-26). "Square to buy Weebly for $365 million". CNBC. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
  49. ^ "Square acquires conversational AI startup Eloquent Labs". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
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  51. ^ Weil, Dan (2020-11-25). "Square to Buy Credit Karma Tax for $50 Million, Expanding Reach". TheStreet. Archived from the original on 2020-12-06. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  52. ^ Rosman, Katherine (2021-03-04). "Square acquires majority of Tidal, Jay-Z's streaming service, in $297 million deal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  53. ^ McCormick, Emily (May 6, 2021). "Square Q1 sales surge 266% as transactions jump amid economic recovery, bitcoin revenue soars". Yahoo! Finance. Archived from the original on 2021-06-08. Retrieved 2021-06-08 – via MSN.
  54. ^ Peters, Jay (August 1, 2021). "Square to buy Afterpay, which offers a 'buy now, pay later' service, for $29 billion in stock". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2021-08-02.

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