Block Stock at Support Zone – Bargain or Trap?
Block (XYZ) stock should be on your watchlist. Here is why – it is currently trading in the support zone ($62.18 – $68.72), levels from which it has bounced meaningfully before. In the last 10 years, Block stock received buying interest at this level 13 times and subsequently went on to generate 46.7% in average peak returns.
| Peak Return | Days to Peak Return | |
|---|---|---|
| 8/2/2018 | 36.3% | 57 |
| 10/30/2018 | 20.3% | 8 |
| 6/7/2019 | 20.2% | 35 |
| 1/8/2020 | 26.8% | 43 |
| 5/6/2020 | 313.8% | 456 |
| 7/7/2022 | 30.7% | 28 |
| 11/10/2022 | 8.9% | 5 |
| 1/6/2023 | 28.1% | 27 |
| 7/5/2023 | 16.8% | 26 |
| 12/6/2023 | 17.1% | 21 |
| 1/29/2024 | 24.3% | 44 |
| 9/19/2024 | 44.1% | 76 |
| 6/30/2025 | 19.4% | 100 |
But is the price action enough alone? It certainly helps if the fundamentals check out. For XYZ Read Buy or Sell XYZ Stock to see how convincing this buy opportunity might be.
XYZ stock may swing. A balanced asset allocation doesn’t. Trefis’ Boston-based, wealth management partner blends strategy and discipline to smooth out market noise.
Here are some quick data points for Block that should help decision:
- Revenue Growth: 0.5% LTM and 12.6% last 3 year average.
- Cash Generation: Nearly 7.6% free cash flow margin and 9.6% operating margin LTM.
- Recent Revenue Shocks: The minimum annual revenue growth in last 3 years for XYZ was 1.4%.
- Valuation: XYZ stock trades at a PE multiple of 12.7
For quick background, Block provides payment solutions with hardware and software for card acceptance, reporting, analytics, and next-day settlement, including Magstripe readers, EMV/contactless devices, and iPad-based point of sale systems.
| XYZ | S&P Median | |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Financials | – |
| Industry | Transaction & Payment Processing Services | – |
| PE Ratio | 12.7 | 23.6 |
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| LTM* Revenue Growth | 0.5% | 6.0% |
| 3Y Average Annual Revenue Growth | 12.6% | 5.5% |
| Min Annual Revenue Growth Last 3Y | 1.4% | 0.0% |
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| LTM* Operating Margin | 9.6% | 18.8% |
| 3Y Average Operating Margin | 5.9% | 18.2% |
| LTM* Free Cash Flow Margin | 7.6% | 13.6% |
*LTM: Last Twelve Months
What Is Stock-Specific Risk If The Market Crashes?
XYZ isn’t immune to big drops. It fell about 49% in the 2018 correction, 56% during the Covid pandemic, and hit its hardest with an 86% plunge in the inflation shock. Even with all the positives, these numbers show the stock can take a serious hit when the market turns south. Good fundamentals don’t mean it won’t get pulled down when volatility spikes.
But the risk is not limited to major market crashes. Stocks fall even when markets are in good shape – think events like earnings, business updates, outlook changes. Read XYZ Dip Buyer Analyses to see how the stock has recovered from sharp dips in the past.
The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, with a collection of 30 stocks, has a track record of comfortably outperforming its benchmark that includes all 3 – the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000 indices. Why is that? As a group, HQ Portfolio stocks provided better returns with less risk versus the benchmark index; less of a roller-coaster ride, as evident in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.