Mobile payments company Square Inc. (NYSE:SQ) raised its full year forecast as it reported a 45% increase in revenue in the third quarter.
Revenue in the third quarter rose to US$257mln, beating analysts’ estimates of US$245.3mln. The group processed US$17.4bn in gross payment volume, an increase of 31% from a year ago.
The company, which directly competes with PayPal's Venmo and Apple's peer-to-peer payments services, said most of the gross payment volume came from merchants who handled more than US$125,000 in annualised sales volume.
Square now expects full-year adjusted revenue in a range between US$963mln to US$966mln, compared to a previous estimated range of US$925mln to US$935mln. It also predicts adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA) in a range of US$132mlnto US$135mln.
The company has been expanding outside of processing payments by adding services, including ways track employee hours and provide instant deposits. The changes come amid a slowdown in payments transaction growth.