Shares in both Coinbase Global Inc. and Block Inc. were up in late trading today as both companies impressed investors and Block announced a new sales strategy.
For its second quarter that ended on June 30, Coinbase reported adjusted earnings per share of 14 cents, up from a loss of 42 cents in the same quarter of the previous year, on revenue of $1.45 billion, up 104.8% year-over-year. Earnings were a big miss, as analysts were expecting 95 cents per share, but revenue came in ahead of an expected $1.398 billion.
Coinbase’s strong revenue figure was driven by a 146% increase in cryptocurrency trading volume to $226 billion in the quarter, in line with estimates, with institution trading volume growing 142% to $189 billion. Retail trading volume was up 164% to $37 billion.
Subscription and services revenue came in at $599 million in the quarter, custodial fee revenue rose to $34.5 million, up from $17 million a year prior and total transaction revenue grew 138% year-over-year to $780.9 million.
“In addition to solid financial results and continuing to build trusted products to help drive crypto adoption, Coinbase and the crypto industry made great strides towards achieving regulatory clarity in the U.S., which we believe will be a major unlock for innovation in the industry,” the company said in a letter to shareholders.
For its fiscal third quarter, Coinbase expects subscription and services revenue of $530 million and $600 million, up from $334 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2023. Coinbase shares were up just over 3% in late trading.
By contrast, Bock shares were up nearly 5% as the company reported adjusted earnings per share of 93 cents, ahead of a forecast 84 cents, on revenue of $6.16 billion, shy of an expected $6.26 billion.
Block reported a gross profit of $2.23 billion, up 20% year-over-year and net income of $195.3 million, up 91%. The company CashApp business saw a gross profit of $1.3 billion in the quarter, up 23% year-over-year, with the number of Cash App Card monthly active users growing 13% to 24 million as of the end of June.
The company’s subscription and services-based revenue came in at $1.79 billion, up 22% year-over-year and subscription and services saw a gross profit of $1.5 billion, up 27%.
Of particular interest to investors was a plan by Block, detailed in a letter to shareholders, that sees the company trying to position its Cash App as the primary financial services partner of choice for families earning up to $150,000.
Referred to the letter as “bank the base,” the strategy is focused on driving engagement through increased adoption of Block’s financial services products. Already in testing, the strategy includes incentivizing new and existing customers to drive new paycheck deposit activities and hence, drive future growth.
“It is about making Cash App our base’s primary financial tool,” Amrita Ahuja, chief financial officer of Block, commented on the plan. “Which ultimately leads to stronger engagement and stronger inflows.”
In addition, Block also appointed Afterpay co-founder Nick Monlar as its head of sales as part of its new strategy. Afterpay is a by-now, pay-later service acquired by Block (then known as Square Inc.) for $29 billion in 2021. “It will result in much better technology, much better design and much better products,” Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey is reported to have said on an earnings call.
For its fiscal third quarter, Block expects to see a gross profit of $2.22 billion on 17% year-over-year growth on adjusted earnings of $695 million. For the full year, the company expects gross profit of $8.89 billion – revised up from a previous outlook of $8.78 billion and adjusted earnings of $2.9 billion, also revised up from $2.76 billion previously.