• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

Three Takeaways From Square’s Latest Earnings

By
Leena Rao
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Leena Rao
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 3, 2016, 6:26 PM ET
Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter Inc. and chief executive officer of Square Inc., speaks during a television interview in New York, U.S., on Monday, Oct. 25, 2010. Square's mobile-payment technology allows smartphone users to make credit card payments and the availability of funding for new ventures. Photographer: Jin Lee/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by Jin Lee — Bloomberg via Getty Images

Payments company Square beat analysts expectations in its second quarter earnings, sending its stock up more than 10% in after hours trading. The company blew past analyst revenue expectations of $406 million, posting $439 million in revenue, up 41% from the same quarter in the previous year.

Here are three things to take away from Square’s earnings:

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

1. Losses are narrowing: Although Square (SQ) posted a net loss of $27 million, which is significantly less then the loss of $97 million in the first quarter of 2016. Square earnings before interest, taxes, and other expenses included was $13 million, which exceeded the high end of the company’s publicly projected guidance.

2. Payment volume is growing: The amount of payments being made through Square’s credit card readers was up 42% to $12.5 billion in the quarter. Part of that is attributed to an increase in volume of larger sellers using the service.

Square said that payments volume from these sellers — which are defined as merchants — generate more than $125,000 in yearly payments volume and grew 61% year over year, representing 42% of total volume in the second quarter of 2016. That’s up from 37% of volume in the second quarter of 2015.

3. Online lending is still massive and growing: Square’s lending arm, Square Capital continues to be one of the bright stars in the company’s suite of services outside of payments. In the second quarter, Square extended nearly 34,000 business loans totaling $189 million, an increase of 123% year over year and 23% from the previous quarter in 2016.

Will Jack Dorsey Leave Square for Twitter?

Square originally launched the lending arm in 2014 to provide cash advances to merchants using Square’s point of sale service. Square recently announced that it would be expanding into traditional online loans, with fees between 10% to 16% of the amount borrowed.

Last quarter, Square said it was experiencing “challenging credit market conditions” and also reported delays in signing new investors to back its fledgling lending business. Square sells the majority of its loans to third parties for an upfront fee and a small ongoing servicing fee. This quarter, Square said that it added five new investors to invest lending capital.

Revenue from Square Capital, and the company’s other software services which include invoicing and analytics, was up 130% to $30 million from the same quarter in 2015 and up 25% from the previous quarter in 2016.

About the Author
By Leena Rao
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Retail
Trump just declared December 26th a national holiday. What's open and closed?
By Dave SmithDecember 26, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
As millions of Gen Zers face unemployment, CEOs of Amazon, Walmart, and McDonald's say opportunity is still there—if you have the right mindset
By Preston ForeDecember 26, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Real Estate
Mark Zuckerberg gifted noise-canceling headphones to his Palo Alto neighbors because of the nonstop construction around his 11 homes
By Dave SmithDecember 25, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Investing
Logan Paul auctions off $5.3 million Pokémon card, urging young people to invest more in nontraditional assets: 'Don't be afraid to take a risk'
By Sydney LakeDecember 25, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Billionaire philanthropy's growing divide: Mark Zuckerberg stops funding immigration reform as MacKenzie Scott doubles down on DEI
By Ashley LutzDecember 22, 2025
5 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Trump's tariffs actually slashed the deficit from a record $136.4 billion to less than half that. Here's what else they did
By Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Paul Wiseman and The Associated PressDecember 26, 2025
19 hours ago

Latest in Tech

AIData centers
At the edges of the AI data center boom, rural America is up against Silicon Valley billions
By Sharon GoldmanDecember 27, 2025
17 minutes ago
research
Cybersecuritydeepfakes
2026 will be the year you get fooled by a deepfake, researcher says. Voice cloning has crossed the ‘indistinguishable threshold’
By Siwei Lyu and The ConversationDecember 27, 2025
47 minutes ago
Employee is applauded at office
SuccessCareers
The ‘occupations most exposed to AI automation’ actually outperform the rest of the job market, new research reveals
By Emma BurleighDecember 27, 2025
1 hour ago
Travel & LeisureVirtual Reality
Seniors relive their days of wanderlust and thrill-seeking with virtual reality. ‘It’s about all the memories that it brings back’
By Michael Liedtke and The Associated PressDecember 26, 2025
19 hours ago
An NYSE trader looks at his computer monitor.
AIMarkets
‘Artificial stupidity’ made AI trading bots spontaneously form cartels when left unsupervised, Wharton study reveals
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 26, 2025
21 hours ago
MJ Burk Chun
InnovationBrainstorm AI
Confused by baby goats, having car nightmares, struggling to move from LA to Miami Beach — Robots are just like us, exec says
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 26, 2025
22 hours ago