Shares in Square Inc. plummeted in after-hours trading after the financial services provider disclosed in its quarterly earnings report that it had purchased bitcoin at a time the cryptocurrency is declining in price.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, Square reported revenue jumped 141% from a year ago, to $3.16 billion, in the quarter ended Dec. 31. Gross profit rose 52%, to $804 million, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was $185 million. Earnings per share came rose 39%, to 32 cents. Analysts were predicting a 34-cent-a-share profit on revenue of $3.17 billion.
As it did in Square’s third-quarter earnings, bitcoin dominated the company’s financials, although this quarter with a twist. In the quarter Square reported $1.71 billion in revenue from bitcoin trading, more than the rest of its business, including its Cash App excluding bitcoin, booking revenue of $1.4 billion.
Bitcoin (BTC)
