Jack Dorsey’s Block beats profit estimates, Australian shares soar – Reuters

Jack Dorsey’s Block beats profit estimates, Australian shares soar – Reuters

SYDNEY/WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Block Inc (SQ.N), the payments company of Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) founder Jack Dorsey, posted better than expected fourth-quarter profit thanks to a highly volatile bitcoin market and booming online retail, sending its shares soaring.

The company, which offers merchant payment services and an app that lets people trade the cryptocurrency, recently took a secondary listing in Australia after buying that country's top payments company, Afterpay.

Though the results announcement came after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, where Block has its main listing, the company's Australian stock leapt as much as 40%, the biggest gainer in a flat overall market (.AXJO).