Block
To Our Shareholders
Today we shared a difficult decision with our team. We're reducing Block by nearly half, from over 10,000 people to just under 6,000, which means that over 4,000 people are being asked to leave or entering into consultation. I want to use this letter to explain why I believe this is the right path for our company, and what Block looks like going forward:
2025 was a strong year for us. Gross profit growth more than doubled from the first quarter to the fourth quarter. We surpassed Rule of 40 in the fourth quarter, reignited Cash App network growth, and drove deeper engagement.' We scaled our lending products at strong returns, accelerated Square gross payment volume (GPV) growth, and had our strongest new volume added (NVA) year on record. We shipped our first Proto bitcoin mining units and we increased share repurchases to return more capital to shareholders.
We believe this financial performance is just beginning to reflect the product development velocity improvements we drove this year, and we have conviction in achieving the financial targets we laid out at our recent Investor Day. We believe we can sustain Cash App's strong gross profit growth and continue accelerating Square's GPV over the next three years. We have already seen our strategies start to come to life in what we deliver to customers every day. So why are we changing how we operate going forward?
The core thesis is simple. Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company. We're already seeing it internally. A significantly smaller team, using the tools we're building, can do more and do it better. And intelligence tool capabilities are compounding faster every week.
I don't think we're early to this realization. I think most companies are late. Within the next year, I believe the majority of companies will reach the same conclusion and make similar structural changes. I'd rather get there honestly and on our own terms than be forced into it reactiv…
One of my adult children works in the tech side of investment industry. AI is ramping up quickly. So the lay offs begin…
#pinks #AI #layoffs #RIFs