$Block (SQ.US)$ shares are gaining premarket on Friday. Yesterday, after the closing bell, the company reported first-quarter financial results with quarterly sales of $5.957 billion, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $5.821 billion.
Block sees second-quarter gross profit from $2.165 billion to $2.185 billion.
Block said it invested $220 million into bitcoin, and that investment has grown by approximately 160% to $573 million as of the end of the first quarter.
Chief Financial Officer Amrita Ahuja said in a call with CNBC that the company is increasing its outlook for the year to reflect its strong performance in the first quarter.
Block will be investing 10% of its gross profit from bitcoin products into bitcoin purchases, the company said in a press release.
In a note to shareholders, CEO Jack Dorsey said bitcoin will ultimately help Block "serve more people around the world faster."
"We're introducing an entirely new 3 nanometer ASIC mining chip, in addition to an entire mining rig system," Dorsey added.
In recent months, Block has streamlined its operations, CNBC reported. According to reports, informed staff in January of significant layoffs, following a similar round in December.