Block Inc (ASX: XYZ) shares are pushing higher on Friday morning.
At the time of writing, the Cash App and Square owner's shares are up over 6% to $104.87.
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What is lifting Block shares today?
Investors have been fighting to get hold of the payments company's shares following the release of a strong quarterly result.
According to the release, Block delivered gross profit of US$2.91 billion for the first quarter of 2026. This was up 27% year on year.
This was driven by strong growth across Cash App and Square, with Cash App gross profit up 38% to US$1.91 billion and Square gross profit up 9% to US$982 million.
Growing at a strong rate was its reported adjusted operating income. It came in at US$728 million for the quarter, representing a margin of 25%. This was a record result for the company and up 56% on the prior corresponding period.
Adjusted EBITDA also reached a record US$1.01 billion, while adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 52% year on year to US$0.85.
Cash App continues to grow
Cash App was a major driver of the result.
Its gross profit increased 38% year on year, supported by strong growth in Cash App Borrow, Afterpay buy now pay later products, and Cash App Card.
Cash App consumer lending origination volume surged 82% year on year to US$17.6 billion, while Primary Banking Actives increased 18% to 9.7 million in March.
Square momentum improves
The Square business also delivered an improved performance.
Square gross payment volume (GPV) increased 13% year on year to US$61.2 billion, with international GPV up 35%.
Management said growth was supported by strong new seller acquisition, field sales investments, and momentum among larger merchants.
Outlook
Commenting on the quarter and its outlook, Block's CEO, Jack Dorsey, said:
We continued to deliver strong financial performance in the first quarter as AI became more central to how Block operates and what we build for customers. We exceeded our guidance across gross profit, Adjusted Operating Income, and Adjusted EPS. We are raising our full year outlook and now expect gross profit growth of 19% in 2026, along with margin expansion and Adjusted Diluted EPS growth of 62%.
Speaking about the use of AI at Block, Dorsey adds:
Our roadmap is differentiated because it connects AI directly to the financial decisions customers and sellers already make every day. Internally, AI is helping us move faster and improve quality. Externally, it is helping us build products that act earlier for customers and sellers. We are building tools that absorb complexity for people rather than just helping them manage it. That is the shift we believe few companies are ready to deliver. We are.
