The news: Block’s gross profit rose 27% YoY to $2.91 billion, driven by strong engagement with Cash App and Square lending products, per the company’s Q1 2026 earnings.

• Cash App’s gross profit hit $1.908 billion, up 38% YoY.
• Square’s gross profit rose to $982 million, 9% growth YoY.

Block raised its end-of-year guidance to $12.33 billion in gross profit for 2026, a 19% YoY increase. 

Payment volume: Square gross payment volume (GPV) grew 13% YoY to $61.2 billion, with international payment GPV growing 35% YoY, versus 8.2% for US volume. 

Cash App’s commerce enablement volume growth rose 18% YoY, backed by the performance of the Cash App Card and surging buy now, pay later (BNPL) volume.

Diving into growth engines: Lending continues to be a powerhouse of the Cash App and Square ecosystems.

• Cash App’s consumer lending originations rose 82% YoY.
• Cash App Borrow originations grew 175% YoY, up from 134% last quarter.
• Square’s financial solutions, which includes Square Loans, grew 25% YoY.

New power player on the rise: Neighborhoods expanded to merchants representing $320 million in annualized GPV. 

Sellers who’ve joined the program, knitting together Cash App users with Square merchants, are reaping significant benefits:

• Sellers who engage in the Neighborhoods network earn 10% of their GPV from Cash App consumers after a few quarters, Block COO Owen Jennings said during the company’s earnings call.
• And merchants on average get 1,000 Cash App followers within the first year.

Implications for payment providers: As economic uncertainty maintains a vice grip on sellers and shoppers alike, optimizing dual-sided networks’ capabilities can help consumer users find deals and rewards, while giving merchants reliable, loyal customer bases.