Fly Intel: What to watch in Square earnings report

Square (SQ) is scheduled to report results of its fourth fiscal quarter after the market close on February 26, with a conference call scheduled for 5:00 pm EDT. What to watch for: 1. OUTLOOK: During the company's last earnings call, Square said it sees Q4 earnings per share between 19c-21c, with consensus at 25c, and Q4 revenue of $585M-$595M, below the expected $621.24M. The company also narrowed its fiscal year 2019 earnings per share view to 76c-78c from 74c-78c, and its revenue view to $2.24B-$2.25B from $2.25B-$2.28B. 2. REVENUE BEAT POSSIBLE: Last month, Stephens analyst Brett Huff upgraded Square to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised his price target on the shares to $78 from $71, saying he expects the company to beat revenue estimates and meet EBITDA expectations when it reports Q4 results. The analyst also said he sees the company issuing in-line fiscal year 2020 guidance and believes margin expectations have already been reset while the market is underestimating pricing benefits. 3. INSTANT TRANSFERS FEES: In a post to its corporate blog back in January, Square announced that "the rate for instant and same-day transfers from your Square balance to your bank account is changing to 1.5% per transfer. We've recently launched a variety of fast and free transfer options, so we felt the timing was right for this change." 4. COLLABORATION: UPS (UPS) has announced a new collaboration with Square that offers turnkey UPS shipping options integrated into the Square Online Store, "a service that allows small and medium sized sellers to grow their business with a professional e-commerce website and integrated tools." Kevin Warren, UPS's Chief Marketing Officer, said that, "UPS understands that making shipping seamless for small businesses is an essential ingredient to success and to growth. This collaboration gives Square's customers simple and affordable access to UPS's top-tier shipping services within the same familiar platform they're already using." Commenting on the announcement, Keefe Bruyette analyst Steven Kwok told investors that he sees Square's online store customers benefiting from special UPS shipping rates and discounts. Square's online store services, which launched in early 2019, mirrors the business model used by Shopify (SHOP) by helping power online businesses for small merchants with tools such as website building and design, payments, Kwok pointed out, adding that the integration with UPS could enhance Square's positioning to better compete with peers such as Shopify.