Square beats on first-ever earnings, stock pops (SQ)

Mike Blake/Reuters

In its first-ever earnings report as a public company, Square showed solid growth in both total revenue and gross payment volume, driving its share up 3% in after hours.

Here are the most important numbers:

EPS: loss of $0.34. (Non-GAAP results were a loss of $0.20, and excludes the impact of a stock dividend "related to the issuance of additional shares to certain holders of Series E preferred stock at the time of the initial public offering.")

Revenue: $374 million (up 49% from last year's quarter) vs $343.2 million estimated

Gross payment volume, the total dollar amount of card payment transactions Square processes, was $10.2 billion, up 47% year-over-year. Adjusted revenue was $135 million, a 64% increase from last year.

Revenue from its software and data products, including the cash-advancing service Square Capital, more than tripled to $22 million compared to the same period of last year. The company's profitability has worsened with an operating loss of $47.8 million.

It gave adjusted revenue guidance in the range of $132 million to $137 million for the next quarter. This number is considered more importance because it excludes the impact of its partnership deal with Starbucks, which is set to expire later this year.

Square had a bumpy ride as a public company since its IPO in November.

It lost half of its value in its IPO pricing and then popped 45% on its first day of trading. In early February, its share price dropped below its $9 IPO price, and although it's recovered most of its value, it's still trading below the first-day closing price of $13.07 a share.

One big question mark around Square is how CEO Jack Dorsey's dual role as Twitter CEO is affecting the company. Although Dorsey says it's manageable, some investors question the viability of his unorthodox work schedule.

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