What's going on?

Twitter has been getting a lot of attention lately, but it�s @jack�s other company, payments firm Square, that stole the spotlight on Wednesday�

What does this mean?

Square reported better than expected financial results for its most recent three months: its revenue was up about 40%. Part of that was due to its lending business, which grew 70% versus a year ago (it lends money to its customers, most of whom are are small- and medium-sized businesses). Square is now forecasting that it will make more money this year than previously thought. All in all, it had some solid growth metrics for Wall Street to digest.

Why should I care?

For the stock: The stock remains below the price at which it became a publicly traded company.
It was about a year ago that Square �went public� (i.e. in a process called an IPO, its shares became available for anyone to buy). Even after its 4% post-results jump yesterday, the stock remains about 10% below the price at which it did its IPO. Investors are optimistic about the prospects of its lending business driving higher profits; it�s also hoped that it will grow its software business (e.g. sales analytics for small businesses).


The bigger picture: Tech firms that have recently become publicly traded companies are having a tough time right now.
Twilio and Nutanix were two high profile tech IPOs earlier this year. Both stocks performed well initially, but have sold off since (Nutanix is well below its IPO price). Square has also had a roller coaster year, e.g. its stock lost one-third of its value a few times (though perhaps it�s now in the midst of a sustainable recovery). As more and more tech companies line up to �go public,� it would be more encouraging to see a better performance from those that recently have.