Block Expands Square's Ecosystem: Will It Drive GPV Growth?

Block’s XYZ merchant-facing business, Square, has expanded its partnership with Steak Escape, a quick-service restaurant (“QSR”). Square’s unified commerce platform will empower Steak Escape’s drive-thru, kiosk and in-store experience across its 23 locations.

This arrangement with Square is a strategic fit for Steak Escape as the QSR platform seeks to expand its footprint. It will aid speed, multi-location consistency and seamless experience at every customer touchpoint. Square’s platform will reduce frictions in the multi-franchise model, providing real-time visibility and tighter cost control at every location.

Square’s integrated ecosystem of hardware, software and APIs makes it well-suited for Steak Escape’s expansion. Steak Escape has now incubated Square Register for in-store service, Square Handheld for drive-thru ordering, Square Kitchen Display System for integrated kitchen communication and Square Kiosk for self-service ordering. At the back-end, the Square for Franchises management solution is in operation. The brand is using Square's first-party integrations for loyalty, marketing and online ordering, alongside an integration with Restaurant365 for financial management.

Block’s Square platform provides sellers with point-of-sale (POS) solutions and business tools. Gross Payment Volume (GPV) remains a key metric, reflecting transaction volumes processed through Square’s ecosystem.

Square is gaining traction in the food & beverage space. Recently, The Pancake Parlour selected Square to streamline operations across 13 locations, while Cinnaholic reengaged the platform for its 85 outlets nationwide.

This momentum is reflected in performance. Square’s GPV from food & beverage sellers rose 16% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025, driven by adoption among fine dining restaurants and breweries seeking operational efficiency and scalability.

How Are Block’s Competitors Faring?

PayPal Holdings, Inc. PYPL via its stablecoin, PayPal USD, is engaging with TCS Blockchain, a provider of transportation trade finance, to scale solutions for trucking and transportation companies (carriers). This collaboration enables more carriers to settle freight invoices faster and at lower cost, using blockchain-based digital assets. PayPal USD is available in 70 markets worldwide.

SoFi Technologies SOFI partnered with Mastercard, allowing SoFiUSD as a settlement option across its global payments network. This will enable settling card-based transactions using SoFiUSD, aiding faster money movement for cross-border remittances and B2B money transfers. This highlights the usage of digital currencies on a global scale.

XYZ’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of Block have declined 9.9% in the past three months, outperforming the broader industry but underperforming the S&P 500 Index.

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In terms of forward 12-month P/E, XYZ stock is trading at 15.63X, which is at a significant discount to the Zacks Internet Software industry’s 26.22X.

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Block’s estimate revisions reflect a positive trend. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-year 2026 EPS has been revised northward 7.5% over the past month. It indicates a significant increase year over year.

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Block currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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