Most workers look forward to Friday, but Wall Street seemed not to be too excited about ending the week. Stock index futures were lower as investors feared that new economic data might further support the Federal Reserve's aggressive campaign of interest rate hikes. As of 8 a.m. ET, it appeared that the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.98%) could fall as much as 200 points at the open.
However, even with markets getting jittery, a couple of companies had positive news that suggested to some shareholders that the stocks might finally have put in a bottom. The latest financial results from Block (SQ -1.68%) and Farfetch (FTCH 3.45%) weren't entirely favorable, but they did inspire more confidence about their longer-term prospects.
Block shareholders hope for crypto spring
Shares of Block rose 6% in premarket trading on Friday morning. The electronic payments specialist reported fourth-quarter financial results that showed signs of a light at the end of the crypto winter tunnel.
Block's financial metrics were mixed. Fourth-quarter gross profit jumped 40% year over year to $1.66 billion. However, even though adjusted pre-tax operating earnings were higher by 53% to $281 million, net losses widened to $114 million. Similar trends played out for the full year, with gross profit up 36% from 2021 levels, but Square's bottom line reversing a modest profit last year to post a $541 million loss.
Yet Block has been pleased with its progress in a different business environment. On the Square side of the business, Block is getting more of its customers to adopt greater numbers of its products, and it's successfully encouraging larger merchants to use its platform. Meanwhile, the Cash App segment has been able to keep customer acquisition costs down and offer a wider range of financial services.
Block's 40-page shareholder letter barely mentions cryptocurrency, but many investors closely associate the company with digital assets, particularly after it changed its name from Square. Given the poor performance of cryptocurrencies in 2022, it's understandable that Block stock came under pressure last year. Now, though, crypto has staged a rebound to start 2023, and it's apparent that more investors think that a crypto spring would prompt a longer-term boost in the stock price.
A not-so-far-fetched investment idea
Elsewhere, shares of Farfetch were higher by 8% in premarket trading early Friday. The luxury fashion marketplace platform provider reported its fourth-quarter financial results as well, and its ability to weather macroeconomic headwinds impressed many of its shareholders.
Farfetch did its best to blunt the impact of weak conditions. Gross merchandise value (GMV) of transactions taking place on its platform fell 12% year over year during the fourth quarter to $1.1 billion, with double-digit percentage declines for both its digital and its brand platforms. However, revenue of $629 million was down just 5%, and it would have been up had it not been for the negative impact of the strong U.S. dollar compared to foreign currencies. Adjusted losses widened to $0.25 per share.
Yet Farfetch did squeeze out small revenue gains for the full 2022 year, and it projected that 2023 would be a lot more favorable for the company's business. Guidance for this year included calls for overall GMV to rise to $4.9 billion, with $4.2 billion coming from the digital platform and the remainder from the brand platform.
Farfetch took crushing blows last year because of issues like weakness in the Chinese economy and rising inflation. There's still a long way to go with its turnaround efforts, but shareholders believe Farfetch has turned the corner and could perform much better in 2023.
