Block vs. Sezzle: Which Fintech Stock Is Better for Investors in 2026?

Block, Inc. XYZ and Sezzle Inc. SEZL are both trying to make everyday financial activity easier, but they approach that goal from very different starting points. Each stock combines payments with consumer finance, depends on repeat engagement and is using new products to deepen customer relationships. Both are also leaning on technology and data to improve underwriting, distribution and operating efficiency.

The difference is scale and focus. Block operates two large ecosystems, Square and Cash App, with Afterpay adding a buy-now-pay-later layer. Meanwhile, Sezzle remains much smaller and more concentrated around installment payments and a growing subscription model. 

Block offers broader exposure to merchants, consumers, banking products and bitcoin, but that breadth can make growth harder to accelerate. Sezzle has fewer moving parts, yet its smaller base gives new products and user gains more room to move the needle. For investors, the choice comes down to durability versus faster execution rather than simply comparing two payment companies.

The Case for XYZ

Block’s strongest argument is the breadth of its network. Square serves sellers, Cash App serves consumers, and Neighborhoods is beginning to connect both sides more directly. In August, Block said Neighborhoods had added 30,000 sellers, while participating sellers represented $1 billion of annualized GPV by June. That cross-ecosystem link is something Sezzle cannot yet match at a similar scale.

Square is also showing better operating momentum. Second-quarter 2026 GPV and gross profit each rose 13% year over year, while U.S. GPV growth reached its strongest pace since 2023. Partnerships with OpenTable and Google can make Square more useful in restaurants, where software, payments, ordering and customer data increasingly need to work together. These integrations may strengthen retention without depending only on payment volume.

Cash App remains a meaningful growth engine, with second-quarter gross profit up 31%. Lending, commerce, Cash App Card, Afterpay and new hardware such as Tags give Block several ways to deepen engagement. Management also says AI is speeding product development, which could help the company ship features faster across a much larger customer base.

Still, Block’s scale creates a tougher comparison. Cash App monthly transacting actives grew only 3% in June, and management expects low-single-digit growth for 2026. Sezzle, by contrast, is expanding users and engagement much faster from a smaller base. Block looks financially stronger and strategically broader, but its next leg depends on proving that ecosystem integration can translate into consistently faster customer growth and better engagement across both sides of its network overall.

The Case for SEZL

Sezzle’s case starts with a simpler growth engine. The company is turning installment payments into a broader consumer-finance platform, while subscriptions give it a recurring relationship that Block’s Afterpay business does not emphasize in the same way. Active subscribers reached 854,000 in the second quarter, up 76.4% year over year, and quarterly purchase frequency rose to a record 7.2 times.

That engagement is feeding both volume and revenues. Second-quarter Gross Merchandise Volume (“GMV”) increased 37.9% to $1.3 billion, while revenues rose 51.7% to $149.7 million. Repeat usage represented 97.2% of orders, suggesting growth is not coming only from customer acquisition. Sezzle is also keeping marketing discipline, with management saying customer acquisition spending still produced payback within six months.

New products widen the opportunity. SezzleCash gives subscribers short-term liquidity outside a normal checkout, and Sezzle Send extends the platform into peer-to-peer transfers. Management said nearly 10% of eligible new subscribers used SezzleCash for their first Sezzle Anywhere transaction, while Sezzle Send had about 100,000 users on its waitlist before launch. However, neither product contributes much to current guidance.

This matters because Sezzle is already growing faster than Block without relying on those initiatives. However, the risks are clear as credit products can raise losses, and a smaller company has less room for execution mistakes. Yet Sezzle’s rising subscriber base, higher purchase frequency, enterprise merchant wins and expanding product set create multiple paths for continued growth. Compared with Block’s broader but slower user expansion, Sezzle currently offers the cleaner operating momentum.

How Do Estimates Compare for XYZ & SEZL?

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Block’s 2026 and 2027 sales implies year-over-year growth of 7.71% and 10.66%, respectively. Over the past month, estimates for XYZ’s 2026 and 2027 EPS have been revised upward. The consensus mark for 2026 and 2027 EPS suggests a year-over-year increase of 70.04% and 26.57%, respectively. 

For Block:

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Sezzle’s 2026 and 2027 sales calls for year-over-year growth of 35.30% and 24.53%, respectively. The consensus estimates for both 2026 and 2027 EPS have been revised notably upward over the past 30 days, and the figures imply a year-over-year increase of 45.96% and 27.10%, respectively.  

For Sezzle:

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Price Performance and Valuation of XYZ & SEZL

Over the past six months, Block shares have gained 28.9%, while Sezzle shares have surged 63%. In comparison, the S&P 500 composite has advanced 11.5% in the same time frame. 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

SEZL is trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings of 20.02X, which is ahead of its one-year median of 17.24X. Meanwhile, XYZ is presently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings of 17.57X, which is below its one-year median of 29.45X. 

On forward earnings, Sezzle carries a premium, and that premium reflects faster revenue, subscriber and GMV growth but raises the execution bar. Block’s lower multiple offers more room if Square and Cash App growth improves, while Sezzle needs to sustain strong operating momentum. On forward P/E alone, Block is cheaper, but Sezzle’s growth profile helps justify part of the difference.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Conclusion

Block remains a high-quality fintech platform with valuable consumer and merchant ecosystems, improving profitability, and several promising links between Square and Cash App. While its user growth is steadier, the company still needs to show that its broader product set can drive stronger expansion at scale. 

Sezzle carries more execution and credit risk, but its subscriber growth, engagement, product launches and merchant momentum are moving faster. That makes Sezzle more compelling for investors seeking fintech exposure now. Block still merits patience from existing shareholders, while Sezzle offers the stronger combination of current growth and visible operating catalysts.

While SEZL carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), XYZ has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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