Square sees higher usage of Cash Card in Q2 driven by shifts in consumer behavior

Square Inc. (NYSE: SQ) reported a 64% growth in total revenue to $1.92 billion for the second quarter of 2020. GAAP net loss was $11 million, or $0.03 per share. Adjusted EPS totaled $0.18.  

While transaction-based revenues declined 12% year-over-year in the quarter due to a 15% drop in gross payment volume (GPV), subscription and services-based revenue increased 38%, helped by strength in Cash App.

Revenues in the Seller ecosystem decreased 17% year-over-year to $723 million, due to a 17% drop in transaction-based revenue caused by a slowdown in GPV. Despite the year-over-year decline in the quarter, GPV trends improved sequentially each month from April through June, helped by the relaxation of pandemic-induced restrictions, growth in new sellers and customer spending, and an increased adoption of contactless commerce.

Seller saw a 16% decrease in subscription and services-based revenue due to slowdowns in Square Capital and other products. Hardware revenue fell 13% as unit sales decreased across hardware devices in April. In May and June, the company saw a pickup in contactless devices unit sales, driven partly by price reductions.

Square saw a massive growth in Cash App during the quarter, as revenues jumped 361% to $1.20 billion, helped by an increase in net-new transacting active Cash App customers as well as strong adoption of products such as Cash Card, Boost, direct deposit and bitcoin investing. Cash App engagement also benefited from stimulus programs and unemployment benefits.

Related: Square Q2 2020 Earnings Call Transcript

Cash App saw triple-digit increases in transaction-based revenues, subscription and services-based revenues and bitcoin revenues due to an increase in business accounts using Cash App, Instant Deposit volumes, Cash Card spend, increase in bitcoin actives and growth in customer demand.

In July, Square saw a 26% year-over-year growth in Seller GPV from card-not-present transactions, which in relatively in line with pre-COVID-19 levels seen in January and February this year. Online channels displayed continued momentum in GPV. Seller GPV from card-present transactions was down 4% year-over-year in July. Cash App saw strong revenue growth year-over-year in July.