Block Cut 40% of Staff for AI. Now Its Earnings Are Beating Expectations
Aug 6, 2026
Block cut 40% of its staff and blamed it on AI five months ago. Now its Q2 earnings are beating almost every Wall Street estimate.
Remember when Block, the company behind Cash App and Square, cut a huge chunk of its workforce and blamed it on AI? That happened about five months ago, and now we're seeing the results.
Block just posted second quarter earnings that beat almost every Wall Street estimate. Turns out the bet on AI doing more of the work actually paid off, at least so far.
A trend across tech
Block isn't alone here. Plenty of tech companies have been pointing to AI as a reason for layoffs lately. Some critics say it's really just an excuse to cut costs and boost margins, not because AI is doing all the heavy lifting.
Whatever the real reason, Block's numbers are hard to argue with this quarter. Investors will be watching closely to see if this is a long term trend or just a one time boost.
For crypto folks, Block is worth keeping an eye on too, since Cash App and its bitcoin business are part of the company's future plans.