Block raised its full-year 2026 financial outlook after releasing its latest second-quarter results, saying continued growth across Square and Cash App was strong enough to outweigh pressure in its Bitcoin business.
Second-quarter profit topped expectations
Block reported second-quarter gross profit of $3.2 billion, up 25% from a year earlier. Adjusted operating income came in at $864 million, and adjusted earnings per share reached $1.02. Those figures were above the average Wall Street estimates of $525 million and $0.87.
Following the quarter, the company lifted its 2026 targets. Block now expects full-year gross profit of $12.5 billion, adjusted operating income of $3.5 billion, and adjusted EPS of $4.02.
Chief Financial Officer Amrita Ahuja said the stronger operating performance came from business growth, scale leverage, and broad improvements in internal efficiency. Management also said momentum had spread across business lines, helping operating leverage show up more clearly.
AI tools were tied to higher engineering output
Earlier restructuring and layoffs had drawn outside scrutiny, including questions over whether the cuts were being justified in the name of AI. Block pushed back on that view and said deeper use of AI tools had materially improved employee productivity.
Owen Jennings said the number of code changes per engineer has risen 150% since the start of the year. According to management, that points to much faster product development and delivery even with a leaner team.
Block said it has rolled out several AI products, including Managerbot for Square merchants’ inventory management, Moneybot for personal finance functions in Cash App, and the open-source AI agent framework goose alongside the Buzz platform.
Square and Cash App remained the main growth engines
On the operating side, Square kept expanding in the restaurant sector and widened partnerships with the UK-based Public House Group and reservation platform OpenTable.
Cash App continued its shift toward digital banking services. Alongside growth in consumer lending, the company also introduced Cash App Tags, a physical device that includes a payment chip.
Net income fell 84% year over year to $88.5 million because of restructuring charges and higher marketing investment. Even so, the company said stronger engagement across both platforms continued to support long-term gross profit.
Bitcoin gross profit fell 31%
While payments and financial services improved, Bitcoin was the main drag on profitability in the quarter. Block said gross profit from the business fell 31% from a year earlier as the crypto market stayed weak and some transaction fees were reduced.
Block holds Bitcoin as part of its asset allocation and also provides buy and sell liquidity. Despite the softer showing in that segment, the company’s shares still rose about 3% in after-hours trading following the earnings release, bringing the year-to-date gain to about 30%.
Block increased its Bitcoin holdings in the first half
As of June 30, 2026, Block held 9,117 BTC for investment purposes, up from 8,883 BTC on Dec. 31, 2025. That means the company added 234 BTC in the first half of 2026.
The filing showed Block bought 149 BTC in one quarter and 85 BTC in the other during the first half. The company classifies its Bitcoin holdings into long-term investment and operational use, with the investment portion remeasured at fair value under accounting rules.
Price swings led to remeasurement losses of about $172 million in the first quarter and about $88.47 million in the second quarter, reducing the carrying fair value of those holdings.