Forsta AP Fonden, a Swedish investment fund, has recently increased its stake in Block ($SQ), a technology company that provides payment and point-of-sale solutions in the United States and internationally. According to the fund’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 21, 2023, it now owns 130,400 shares of Block’s stock. This represents a 22.2% increase from their previous holdings and is valued at $8,194,000.
Block last reported its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 23rd. Unfortunately for investors, the company missed consensus expectations by reporting an EPS of ($0.23), lower than the expected ($0.16). Their revenue came in at $4.65 billion for the quarter compared to estimates of $4.53 billion.
Despite these figures painting a less-than-rosy picture for Block’s future prospects, Forsta AP Fonden clearly still sees potential in investing in them. So what exactly does Square offer?
Founded in 2009 by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Square provides a range of payment and point-of-sale solutions that have proven hugely popular with small business owners across America and beyond. Their tech allows sellers to turn mobile devices into reading spots for magstripe and contactless payments without having to buy multiple units or expensive equipment.
Square offers hardware products such as a Magstripe reader which enables swiped transactions through magnetic stripe cards; a Contactless and Chip reader that accepts EMV chip cards as well as near field communication payments; Square Stand that uses iPads as full point-of-sale or payment terminals; as well as Square Register managed payments solutions.
The rise of e-commerce continues to disrupt traditional brick-and-mortar retail outlets but Square has found success in catering to small businesses looking for something more flexible than conventional point-of-sales systems while keeping operational costs low.
In summary, despite missing estimates during their latest earnings report, Square’s technology continues to gain traction in the market. From small business owners to investment funds like Forsta AP Fonden, many see value in Square’s innovative point-of-sale solutions and believe it has the potential to be a game-changer in the industry.
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