Joining an increasingly long list of companies that have made similar moves in the wake of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, Square (SQ +0.64%) announced that it is shaving its guidance for this quarter and the rest of the year.
Square's new guidance for the first quarter models total revenue of $1.30 billion to $1.34 billion. On the bottom line, the company believes it will book a loss; it did not disclose an exact figure or range, but did say it would be worse than its former guidance.
Image source: Square
Previously, the financial services company had anticipated booking $1.34 billion to $1.36 billion on the top line, with a per-share net loss of $0.02 to $0.04. The latter range was itself a revision -- before that, Square was estimating a deficit of $0.01 to $0.03.
"Starting in March, the effects of COVID-19 began to impact the company's growth, in particular due to a slowdown in gross processing volume (GPV)," Square wrote in the press release detailing the changes. Its Q1 ends next Tuesday, March 31.
The company revealed in the press release that its gross profit increased by 47% on a year-over-year basis in the months of January and February combined. It did not give a precise dollar amount.
On Tuesday, Square stock had one of the best trading days in its history, trading high with other financial stocks on hopes a fiscal stimulus deal would be reached in Congress. The shares rose by almost 16%, easily eclipsing the major market indexes, as well as many top stocks.
