Square Renamed to Block, Paving Way for Future Growth

Financial and digital payment services provider Square, Inc. (SQ) has changed its corporate name to Block, Inc. The legal name change to “Block, Inc.” is expected to occur on or about December 10, 2021, subject to the closing of certain legal conditions.

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The company also noted that it will continue trading with the ticker symbol “SQ” on the NYSE, until further notice. Following the news, shares are up almost 1% during pre-market trading, at the time of writing.

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Distinguish the Corporate Entity from the Seller Business

According to the company, the name “Square” has become a buzzword for its Seller business. The Seller business offers commerce solutions, business software, and banking services for sellers, and the company wishes to capitalize on the same.

The company stated that the “Square” brand was built for its Seller business, and wants the segment to own the name.

The name change allows the company to further expand into different verticals as it has done previously, with the addition of Cash App, TIDAL, and TBD54566975 as businesses.

These businesses will continue to operate under their respective brand names; so will Square, which will represent its Seller business. Additionally, the company’s newly launched business of advancing Bitcoins, called “Square Crypto” will be renamed Spiral.

Management Comments

Co-founder and CEO of Block, Jack Dorsey, said, “We built the Square brand for our Seller business, which is where it belongs… Block is a new name, but our purpose of economic empowerment remains the same. No matter how we grow or change, we will continue to build tools to help increase access to the economy.”

Analysts’ View

Yesterday, Wolfe Research analyst Darrin Peller lowered the price target on the stock to $285 (46.5% upside potential) from $305, while maintaining a Buy rating.

Overall, the stock commands a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 17 Buys and 5 Holds. The average Square price target of $305.57 implies 57.1% upside potential to current levels. Shares have lost 3.7% over the past year.

Website Traffic

TipRanks’ Website Traffic tool, which uses data from SEMrush Holdings (SEMR), the world’s biggest website usage monitoring service, offers insight into Square’s performance.

In October, Square website traffic recorded a 17.13% year-over-year increase in monthly visits. Similarly, year-to-date website traffic growth increased 29.58% compared to the same period last year.