Block Inc (XYZ) stock analysis
Block Inc (XYZ) clears 3 of this site's 8 mechanical value filters, 5 of 8 Buffett-style checks and 2 of 5 Lynch-style checks. A free-cash-flow DCF does not fit financial services companies, so no margin of safety is shown. Its earnings quality rates Mixed and it returns +2.4% to shareholders net of dilution. Figures are as of October 23, 2026, from SEC filings and market data refreshed weekly; this is educational analysis, not investment advice.
Data as of October 23, 2026. Refreshed weekly from SEC filings and market data.
What does Block do?
Block, Inc. runs Square, which gives small businesses card payment and software tools, and Cash App, a consumer payments and banking app.
Brands and businesses it owns
- Square
- Cash App
- Afterpay
- TIDAL
- Bitkey
What stands out about Block?
- Misses 3 of the 8 value filters. It fails Trailing P/E < 25 (132.51), PEG Ratio < 1.5 (3.63) and EPS Growth YoY > -5% (-83.3%); the other 3 pass and 2 were not evaluated. See every filter.
- Weakest against peers: P/E ratio. At 132.5× (peer median 21.7×) it ranks 37th of 37 among financial services stocks this site tracks. See the ranking.
- Earnings quality: Mixed · 2 watch. Beneish M-score −2.20 (grey zone), mostly from receivables growing faster than sales · accruals −3.3% of assets · 104% of profit arrived as cash · stock comp 5.0% of revenue · share count +0.7% a year. From the latest 10-K (year to Dec 2025). See the Earnings Quality Screener.
- Revenue grew 34.2% a year. From $1.7 billion in fiscal 2016 to $24.2 billion in fiscal 2025, from its own 10-K filings.
How has Block's share price moved?
The interactive price chart needs JavaScript.
Is Block undervalued? The value diligence check
Every value-investing signal this site computes for this stock, gathered in one place: the same real numbers from the tools below, not a new score.
- Margin of safety (DCF) n/a (Financial Services)
- P/E vs. its own history 132.5x · near the cheap end Real range: 18.7x–4749.3x over 4 years (net income per diluted share from each fiscal year's 10-K, paired with the real closing price at that fiscal year-end).
- Wall St. analyst rating Buy · 4.08/5 53 analysts this month: 14 strong buy, 29 buy, 10 hold, 0 sell, 0 strong sell (Finnhub).
- Altman Z″-Score (bankruptcy risk) n/a (Financial Services)
- Earnings quality (is the profit real?) Mixed · 2 watch Beneish M-score −2.20 (grey zone), mostly from receivables growing faster than sales · accruals −3.3% of assets · 104% of profit arrived as cash · stock comp 5.0% of revenue · share count +0.7% a year. From the latest 10-K (year to Dec 2025) - see the Earnings Quality Screener for how each check is scored.
- Shareholder yield (cash back to owners) +2.4% net Latest fiscal year (2025): dividends 0.0% + buybacks 4.9% − stock comp 2.6%, as a share of today's market cap. Over 8 years its split-adjusted share count rose 64%. See Shareholder Yield Leaders.
- Capital needed to grow (See's test) $20.62 per $1 of new profit · Capital-hungry · but only 4% return on capital Operating profit −$87M → $774M, capital needed $210M → $18B, 2016–2025 (3-year averages); return on capital now 4% before tax. Buffett's See's Candies needed $0.42 per $1 of new profit, FlightSafety $3.20, a typical grower about $5. See Capital-Light Compounders.
- PEG (growth at a reasonable price) 3.63† · Well above fair P/E 132.5× ÷ 36.5% a year of growth behind it (5-year EPS growth: Finnhub reported no PEG, so this one is estimated). 376th lowest of 447 stocks with a usable PEG. Lynch's fair value is a PEG of 1; a very high PEG usually means almost no growth, a very low one a profit spike. See PEG Ratio Ranking.
- Compounder lenses (4) 1 of 4 · misses capital-light, cash back, price Capital-light growth: not cleared (profit started from a loss); Profit is real: cleared; Cash to owners: not cleared (−0.1% a year net); Fair price (PEG): not cleared (PEG 3.63, over 1.5). See Compounders at a Fair Price, which also lets you move the PEG bar.
- Munger's Inversion Check 1 flag
- Standing vs. sector peers 0 of 3 measures above the median Compared with the 39 other financial services stocks this site tracks: 0 in the top third, 3 in the bottom third.
How does Block compare with its peers?
0 of 3 measures sit above the median of the 39 other financial services stocks tracked here, 3 in the bottom third.
- P/E ratiolower is cheaper · peer median 21.7× 132.5× ✕37th of 37
- Return on equityhigher is better · peer median 18% 2% ✕37th of 40
- Net marginhigher is better · peer median 20.2% 1.4% ✕37th of 40
Peers are the stocks this site tracks in the same sector group, not every listed competitor. The bar runs from the weakest peer (left) to the strongest (right); the tick is the middle. Measures that don't apply to a sector (cash-flow yield for banks, debt for financials) are left out.
What would Buffett & Lynch say?
Buffett's checklist is built around durable, profitable businesses bought at sensible prices, and XYZ doesn't clear enough of it yet. In its favor: XYZ carries a conservative amount of debt relative to equity, has grown earnings per share at a solid clip over five years, earns many times its interest expense, so debt service isn't a worry, is trading below what a conservative discounted-cash-flow estimate says it's worth - his own "price is what you pay, value is what you get" test, not a fixed multiple ceiling, and trades at a reasonable multiple of owner earnings, his own term for the real cash a business could pay out. Where it comes up short: XYZ isn't clearing the return-on-equity bar he'd want to see right now, and its five-year average return on equity falls short too, so this isn't just a one-off dip, and runs thinner pretax margins than he'd like to see.
- ROE (TTM) > 11% ✕
- ROE (5yr avg) > 11% ✕
- Debt/Equity < 0.5 ✓
- Pretax margin > 15% ✕
- EPS growth (5yr) > 7% ✓
- Interest coverage > 5x ✓
- Trading below intrinsic value (DCF) ✓
- Price vs. owner earnings < 25x ✓
- Bonus: returning capital via buybacks FY2025
Lynch looked for growth stories that weren't overpriced for that growth, and XYZ falls short of his bar. In its favor: XYZ isn't over-leveraged for a company of its type, and converts earnings into real cash at a reasonable price. Where it comes up short: XYZ doesn't pay much of a dividend, which is the main reason to own a slow grower in the first place, isn't even growing at the modest pace he'd expect from a slow grower, and is priced too rich for how little growth is actually left in the business.
- Dividend yield > 2.5% ✕
- EPS growth 0%-10% ✕
- Debt/Equity < 0.6 ✓
- P/E < 20 ✕
- Price/FCF < 25 ✓
Quantitative approximations of each investor's documented approach, not endorsed by either investor or their estates - commentary, not this site's actual ranking criteria. Buffett never published a numeric checklist: only 2 of his 8 checks here trace to his own documented concepts ("owner earnings," from his 1986 shareholder letter, and "price is what you pay, value is what you get," his case against fixed P/E/P/B ceilings) - the other 6 (ROE, debt, margins, growth, interest coverage) use commonly-cited thresholds that are not numbers he himself published. The 8 hard filters below (plus the Munger check and Graham margin of safety) are this site's real, mechanical screen and are computed completely independently of the checklists above.
Berkshire Hathaway's own filing
Which of the 8 value filters does Block pass?
- Market Cap > $25B $47.3B
- Trailing P/E < 25 132.51
- PEG Ratio < 1.5 3.63 †
- Price/Book < 8 2.15
- Price/Sales < 7 1.89
- EPS Growth YoY > -5% -83.3%
- vs 50-day MA (±12%) Not evaluated †
- vs 200-day MA (±12%) Not evaluated †
What is Block's margin of safety?
A standard free-cash-flow DCF doesn't fit how financial services companies report cash flow.
Where is Block in its 52-week range?
What is the short interest in Block?
14,379,515 shares short as of 2026-09-30 (FINRA settlement date). Reported twice a month, so this only changes roughly every two weeks, not daily.
What could go wrong with Block? Munger's inversion check
"Invert, always invert." Instead of reasons to buy, these are reasons to hesitate, not a verdict, and not everything worth knowing about a business.
- Margin of safety, even in the bull case n/a (Financial Services)
- Short interest under 5% of float 2.7%
- Passes most of the 6 fundamental filters 3/6 passed
Doesn't cover circle of competence, management quality, or accounting concerns: those need judgment, not data.
How much have Block shareholders gained per year?
Earnings growth per share plus dividend.
An earnings-based proxy, not a stock-price total return - it doesn't capture multiple expansion/contraction or reinvested dividends. EPS from XYZ's own 10-K filings; dividend yield is the current trailing yield on today's price, from the same weekly fetch as the rest of this site.
What do Block's 10-year financials show?
From XYZ's own 10-K filings (SEC EDGAR): up to the last 10 fiscal years. Press any year's bars for the exact figures.
Frequently asked questions about Block
What kind of company is Block?
Block, Inc. runs Square, which gives small businesses card payment and software tools, and Cash App, a consumer payments and banking app. Brands and businesses it owns include Square, Cash App, Afterpay, TIDAL and Bitkey. This site groups it with Financial Services stocks.
Why does Block have no margin of safety on this site?
This site's DCF values a company from its free cash flow, and that does not fit financial companies, whose operating cash flow swings with client money, loans and trading rather than with what is left over for owners. So XYZ gets no margin of safety; judge it on the other checks on this page, such as its filters, shareholder yield and ranking against its peers. The method is in the Intrinsic Value Calculator.
How many of this site's 8 value filters does Block pass?
XYZ passes 3 of 8. It passes Market Cap > $25B ($47.3B), Price/Book < 8 (2.15) and Price/Sales < 7 (1.89). It misses Trailing P/E < 25 (132.51), PEG Ratio < 1.5 (3.63) and EPS Growth YoY > -5% (-83.3%). vs 50-day MA (±12%) and vs 200-day MA (±12%) were not evaluated, because the moving-average checks only run on stocks that clear the fundamentals first. The 8-filter list shows every stock that passes all of them.
Are Block's reported earnings reliable?
This site's earnings-quality check rates XYZ Mixed · 2 watch. Beneish M-score −2.20 (grey zone), mostly from receivables growing faster than sales · accruals −3.3% of assets · 104% of profit arrived as cash · stock comp 5.0% of revenue · share count +0.7% a year. From the latest 10-K (year to Dec 2025). Concerns: the Beneish M-score (on watch) and stock-based compensation (on watch). The five checks are the Beneish M-score (manipulation risk), accruals, cash conversion, stock-based compensation and share dilution; the Earnings Quality Screener shows how each is graded.
How fast has Block grown its revenue and profit?
From fiscal 2016 to fiscal 2025, XYZ's revenue grew from $1.7 billion to $24.2 billion, 34.2% a year. Net income went from −$172 million to $1.3 billion, and its net profit margin from -10.1% to 5.4%. All figures are from XYZ's own 10-K filings (SEC EDGAR) and are shown year by year in the 10-Year Financials section of the card above.
When does Block report earnings next?
Block's next earnings report is expected on November 3, 2026 after the market closes, with analysts expecting earnings of $1.03 per share. Dates come from the Finnhub earnings calendar and can move. In its last 4 quarters it beat the estimate 2 times, by an average of +4.9%.
Where do these numbers come from?
- Financial statements: Block's 10-K annual report for the year ended Dec 31, 2025, filed Feb 26, 2026 (filing index). Every earlier year in the 10-year financials comes from the company's older 10-K filings, all listed on SEC EDGAR.
- Prices and market data: quotes, P/E and analyst ratings from Finnhub; daily price history and the 52-week range from Twelve Data, both refreshed weekly. Short interest comes from FINRA, reported twice a month.
- How to check a figure: click any number in the card above to see its exact source, and read the Editorial Standards for every rule behind the checks.
About this Block Inc analysis
This page shows every value-investing check the site runs on Block Inc (XYZ) in one place: the 8 mechanical filters, the Buffett and Lynch checklists, a margin of safety from a disclosed DCF, earnings quality, shareholder yield and how it ranks against its sector peers. The numbers come from SEC filings and public market data, refreshed weekly, and the same rules apply to every stock on the stock list. See Editorial Standards for the sources and the rules, or run your own filters in the stock screener.