Ark Invest bought $21 million in Block shares as the fintech stock dropped 6% on rising expense concerns, while also adding to its SpaceX position and trimming Bullish.
Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest wasted no time buying into weakness on Thursday, scooping up shares of Block Inc. just as the fintech company’s stock tumbled 6% following its latest earnings report. The move continues Ark’s well-known pattern of adding to positions in companies it believes the market is undervaluing during short-term pullbacks.
Ark’s Latest Move Into Block
According to Ark’s daily trading disclosure, the firm added 267,676 shares of Block across three of its exchange-traded funds: the Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK), Ark Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), and Ark Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF). Block’s stock fell 6.15% on the day, closing at $79 — putting the total value of Ark’s fresh purchase at roughly $21 million.
Ark maintains strict diversification rules across its funds, capping any single holding at no more than 10% of a given portfolio. Within ARKW specifically, Block now ranks as the fund’s 10th-largest holding, valued at around $60 million and representing a 3.51% weighting.
Why Block’s Stock Dropped
The sell-off came despite Block posting what looked, on the surface, like a strong second quarter. The Jack Dorsey-led company reported revenue of $6.62 billion, up 9% year-over-year and ahead of expectations, while adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.02, marking a 65% jump from the prior year. Gross profit also grew a healthy 25% to $3.17 billion.
The concern wasn’t the top-line numbers — it was spending. Analysts at Mizuho flagged rising operating expenses as a red flag, noting that costs have continued climbing even after Block cut 40% of its workforce back in February. Mizuho now estimates Block’s adjusted operating expenses will rise from $4.48 billion in the first half of the year to $4.56 billion in the second half, based on the company’s own guidance — a trend that’s clearly making some investors nervous about how efficiently the company is managing its cost base even as revenue grows.
Ark Also Adds to SpaceX, Trims Bullish
Block wasn’t the only stock on Ark’s radar Thursday. The firm also picked up 20,318 shares of SpaceX, spread across ARKK, the Ark Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ), ARKW, and the Ark Space & Defense Innovation ETF (ARKX), a purchase worth roughly $2.3 million.
SpaceX shares actually rebounded on Thursday, climbing 6.14% to close at $114.92, clawing back some ground after tumbling 13.6% the previous day. That earlier drop followed SpaceX’s own Q2 results, where investors reacted nervously to a sharp jump in capital expenditures — the company spent $18.4 billion in the quarter, six times what it spent a year earlier.
On the other side of the ledger, Ark trimmed its position in crypto exchange Bullish (BLSH), selling 39,509 shares through ARKW worth about $910,287. Bullish shares fell 3.36% on Thursday, closing at $23.04.
What This Signals About Ark’s Strategy
Wood’s approach here follows a familiar playbook: buying into names experiencing short-term price weakness that Ark still views as strategically well-positioned over the long run, while also actively rebalancing across its ETF lineup as valuations shift day to day. The simultaneous moves — adding to Block and SpaceX while trimming Bullish — suggest Ark sees more near-term opportunity in fintech and space infrastructure exposure than in crypto exchange stocks at current prices.
For investors watching Ark’s public trading disclosures, these kinds of moves often serve as a signal of where Wood’s team sees value emerging after sharp single-day declines, even if the broader market reaction to a company’s earnings report is negative in the moment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How much did Ark Invest spend on Block stock? Ark purchased 267,676 shares of Block across three ETFs, worth approximately $21 million at Thursday’s closing price of $79 per share.
Q: Why did Block’s stock fall 6% on Thursday? Despite strong revenue and earnings growth, analysts flagged concerns about Block’s rising operating expenses, which are expected to increase in the second half of the year even after the company cut 40% of its workforce in February.
Q: Did Ark Invest also buy SpaceX shares? Yes. Ark bought 20,318 shares of SpaceX across four of its ETFs, worth about $2.3 million, as SpaceX stock rebounded 6.14% after a steep drop the previous day.
Q: Did Ark sell any positions on Thursday? Yes. Ark trimmed its stake in crypto exchange Bullish, selling shares worth roughly $910,287 through the ARKW fund.
Q: What were Block’s key second-quarter results? Block reported $6.62 billion in revenue, up 9% year-over-year, along with adjusted earnings per share of $1.02, up 65% year-over-year, and 25% growth in gross profit to $3.17 billion.
