Afterpay, the buy‑now‑pay‑later arm of Block, Inc., announced on December 9, 2025 that it had added 13 new retailers—including Jenni Kayne, Hibbett, Diesel, Thursday Boots, Tecovas, Z Gallerie, The GLD Shop, Coolibar, The Woobles, Effy Jewelry, Von Dutch, SP5DER Worldwide, and Christy Dawn—to its payment platform.
The new partners span fashion, lifestyle and home categories, giving Afterpay a broader footprint that is expected to lift transaction volume and fee‑based revenue. By deepening its presence in these segments, Afterpay can also drive cross‑sell opportunities within Block’s Cash App ecosystem, where the BNPL service already powers a significant portion of consumer payments.
Block’s recent earnings provide context for the expansion. In Q3 2025, the company reported a gross profit of $2.66 billion, up 18 % year‑over‑year, but missed both earnings‑per‑share and revenue estimates. The Q4 2024 results showed a 16.2 % year‑over‑year increase in Cash App gross profit to $1.38 billion and an 11.6 % rise in Square gross profit to $923.7 million, underscoring the strength of its core payment segments even as overall revenue fell short of consensus.
Afterpay’s merchant expansion is positioned to offset those shortfalls by generating higher transaction volumes and fee income. The addition of high‑profile retailers is expected to attract new users and deepen engagement among existing customers, reinforcing Block’s strategy of building an interconnected ecosystem that locks in spend and creates network effects across its payment, commerce and consumer‑finance businesses.
Tanuj Parikh, Head of Commercial, North America for Cash App and Afterpay, said the partnership “ensures shoppers can access their favorite brands responsibly while managing holiday‑season spending.” Block’s leadership has emphasized that the BNPL integration is a key lever for sustaining growth in a competitive market dominated by PayPal and Adyen.
Investors have expressed caution following recent earnings misses and guidance that fell short of expectations, but the merchant‑network expansion is viewed as a strategic move that could strengthen Block’s competitive position and support long‑term revenue growth.
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