What happened
Shares of credit card processing company Square Inc (SQ +2.84%) fell as much as 10.8% in trading Wednesday after its CFO announced plans to leave. There wasn't much relief throughout the day, either, with shares closing down 10.1%.
So what
Square CFO Sarah Friar is leaving the company in December to become CEO of Nextdoor. Board member David Viniar has been charged with finding a replacement for Friar, and currently, no one has been named for the job.
Image source: Square.
The move also coincides with a big decline in tech stocks, which certainly helped push Square's shares lower than they normally might have fallen on the CFO announcement.
Now what
When a CFO gets a chance to take a CEO job, it's tough to fault them, especially considering that CFOs typically have fairly short tenures. I wouldn't read too much into this move, especially since Friar left for a promotion and not out of disgust with Square's direction.
Investors also shouldn't overlook how much the broader market decline may be playing into Square's drop today. Tech stocks are down, and Square may be hit harder than most because it's been a big winner over the past year. In fact, shares are still up 99% year to date, even after today's drop, another reminder that moves like this can be a bump in the road for great companies that investors hold long term.
