What happened
Shares of finance-company Square (SQ 0.05%) fell as much as 6.7% in trading on Wednesday and is bouncing near new lows late in the day. At 3:40 p.m. EDT, shares are down 6.5% and look like they'll close near lows for the year.
So what
The biggest reason Square stock is off today is because growth and tech stocks are taking it on the chin. The Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC 0.49%) is currently down 2.5% for the day, outpacing the 1.7% decline for the Dow Industrial Average (^DJI 0.73%), and high-growth stocks are faring the worst.
Image source: Square.
Ironically, some of the factors driving stocks down overall may be helpful to Square. Investors are worried about a hot economy and inflation leading to higher interest rates, which could ultimately hurt growth. But higher prices and a hot economy as COVID-19 dissipates in the U.S. could mean a higher volume of transactions for sellers, which would mean higher fees for Square. And that could ultimately flow to the bottom line.
Now what
Sometimes, great stocks get hammered in a market sell-off, and that seems to be what's happening with Square today. The company just reported a great quarter, and as the economy opens up it, should see an increase in revenue from seller transactions.
Those will be helpful for the business, and if fundamentals improve, the stock will follow eventually. That's why I'm not panic-selling Square stock today.
