Is Block (SQ) Quietly Recasting Its Risk Profile With Bigger Bets On Bitcoin And Consumer Credit?

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  • In recent days, analysts have highlighted Block’s expanding role in Bitcoin-related services and the buy now, pay later market, alongside ongoing insider equity activity and mixed financial stress signals.

  • These developments underscore how Block is tying its future more closely to digital assets and consumer credit trends, which can increase both growth potential and risk exposure.

  • We’ll now explore how Block’s deepening Bitcoin ecosystem could reshape its investment narrative and risk profile for investors.

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To own Block, you need to be comfortable with a company tying its fortunes to Bitcoin infrastructure and consumer credit products, on top of its core merchant and peer to peer payments. The latest analyst commentary reinforces Bitcoin and buy now, pay later as near term growth drivers, while highlighting that credit quality and crypto related volatility remain key swing factors for the stock. For now, the recent news does not materially change those central catalysts or the main risks.

Among the recent developments, Citi’s renewed focus on Block’s buy now, pay later opportunity is particularly relevant, because it directly links future upside to how well the company manages credit risk in its expanding Borrow and BNPL books. That sits alongside management’s push into Bitcoin trading, hardware and mining, which could amplify earnings volatility if crypto activity, regulation or consumer engagement shift in ways the business is not fully prepared for.

Yet against this growth story, investors should also be aware of the increased exposure to credit losses if BNPL and Borrow volumes accelerate faster than Block’s underwriting can adapt…

Read the full narrative on Block (it’s free!)

Block’s narrative projects $32.8 billion revenue and $2.4 billion earnings by 2028.

Uncover how Block’s forecasts yield a $84.01 fair value, a 21% upside to its current price.

XYZ 1-Year Stock Price Chart

Fourteen members of the Simply Wall St Community currently see Block’s fair value between US$68.98 and US$103, reflecting a wide spread in individual forecasts. Against that backdrop, the company’s heavier reliance on Bitcoin and BNPL as highlighted above may help explain why views on its future performance diverge so sharply, and why it can be useful to compare several of these perspectives before making up your own mind.

Explore 14 other fair value estimates on Block – why the stock might be worth as much as 48% more than the current price!

Disagree with existing narratives? Create your own in under 3 minutes – extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.

  • A great starting point for your Block research is our analysis highlighting 3 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision.

  • Our free Block research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual – the Snowflake – making it easy to evaluate Block’s overall financial health at a glance.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Companies discussed in this article include XYZ.

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