Block raised its FY guidance after fourth-quarter results met top estimates. By Investing.com

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Investing.com — Block raised its full-year target after the financial services group reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue thanks to efforts to boost monetization of its Cash App money transfer service.

Shares of Block Inc (NYSE:) soared in pre-market trading Friday.

The company said it expects to post adjusted operating profit of at least $1.15 billion in 2024. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, amortization, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) are also expected to be at least $2.63 billion.

Previous forecasts had projected adjusted operating income of $875 million and adjusted EBITDA of $2.4 billion.

“(M)Management’s focus on actual profitability remains evident, as it delivered significantly higher FY24 profitability metrics driven by headcount reductions, incremental overhead efficiencies and structural cost advantages,” said analysts at Wolfe Research. said.

For the three months ended Dec. 31, Block’s adjusted EPS was $0.45 per share on revenue of $5.77 billion, compared to analyst estimates of adjusted EPS of $0.67 on revenue of $5.71 billion.

The rise at the top was led by the performance of Cash App, which recorded sales of $3.91 billion and gross profit of $1.18 billion, up 31% and 25%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Cash App’s monetization rate was 1.48%, up 9 basis points year over year and up 5 basis points quarter over quarter.

For the first quarter, the company expects adjusted operating income to range from $225 million to $245 million and adjusted EBITDA to range from $570 million to $590 million.