Topic: How To Invest

Q: Hi Pat: I would appreciate your advice on Square Inc. Thanks.

Article Excerpt

A: Square Inc., $25.15, symbol SQ on New York (Shares outstanding: 382.6 million; Market cap: $9.6 billion; www.squareup.com), provides payment processing services to over 3 million merchants in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, Ireland and the U.K. The company supplies clients of all sizes with a square-shaped card reader that plugs into their smartphones or tablets. To make a sale, they swipe the customer’s credit or debit card through the reader. The device then wirelessly transmits the information to a payment terminal. Square also provides the software that handles all aspects of the transaction. It typically charges merchants a 2.65% fee per transaction. The company also helps its clients improve their marketing by establishing their customers’ spending patterns and analyzing other sales data. Square operates two other businesses: Square Capital, which provides cash advances to pre-qualified merchants, and Caviar, a food delivery service. Jack Dorsey, the creator of Twitter, and entrepreneur Jim McKelvey, co-founded Square in 2009. Dorsey is now CEO. He holds 39.0%…