US Tech Stocks Sink And Square Down 10 Percent

Square’s shares fell 10 percent on Monday (November 19), bringing its one-month losses to 14 percent.

According to CNBC, the S&P technology sector pulled back 3.9 percent. In addition, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 500 points, while the S&P 500 dipped 2 percent.

Square’s share fall came after it was revealed in a securities filing that its finance chief Sarah Friar would leave a few weeks earlier than expected. The company announced Friar’s departure last month. She is set to become the CEO of Nextdoor.

“Sarah isn’t just a world-class CFO. She’s a multidimensional leader who considered our entire business,” CEO Jack Dorsey said in an email to staff at the time. “Her team and role evolved through years of learning and building with us, and that’s not something you replace by simply hiring.”

Although she was supposed to stay on until next month, Square said in the filing that Friar’s last day was November 16 because she wanted to spend more time with her family.

Timothy Murphy and Mohit Daswani, two executives from the company’s finance department, will serve as interim co-CFOs until a permanent replacement is found. Square board member and former Goldman Sachs finance chief David Viniar is overseeing the search.

The company also said Dorsey sold around 130,000 shares, worth about $7.4 million at the time, in a pre-scheduled sale last week.

Earlier this month, Square posted results that showed double-digit gains in gross payment volumes, continued traction amid a base of larger merchants, and notable growth in subscription and software-based revenues.

The company’s third quarter adjusted revenues came in at $431 million, up 68 percent, and better than the $414 million consensus. Adjusted earnings per share of 13 cents beat the Street by two pennies. And in terms of other revenue line items, the company said that subscription and services-based revenues were $166.2 million, up 155 percent from last year.