CE 100 Index Slips 1.3% Led by Cogent and Payment Names

Tech stocks endured a wild ride through the past week, marked by earnings reports and volatility tied to investor sentiment over AI.  The CE 100 Index slid 1.3%, as most pillars declined, save the Communications and Be Well segments, up a respective 4% and 1%.

The Pay and Be Paid listings led to the downside, giving up 4.1%.

Block said this week that it was introducing bitcoin payment capability for 4 million merchants through its Square Bitcoin feature. It allows merchants worldwide to accept bitcoin at checkout with instant settlement. Sellers will pay no transaction fees until 2027. With Square Bitcoin, merchants have the option to automatically convert a portion of their daily card sales into bitcoin, giving businesses increased flexibility and exposure to cryptocurrency. Block shares were down by 9.2%.

PayPal said it is relaunching in the U.K. as a “unified payment experience.” The company’s new offering is designed to improve shopping for British consumers, letting them access the new PayPal+ loyalty program, along with PayPal’s debit and credit cards.

The company’s first loyalty program is now available to British customers before anyone else in the world. Consumers can sign up to PayPal+ for free in the PayPal app and begin earning points on online and in-store purchases. PayPal’s stock lost 5.4%.

Payment Networks Dip

And in news affecting the payment networks, Visa and Mastercard’s proposed settlement with U.S. merchants that would essentially end 20 years of litigation over interchange or “swipe” fees.

Under the deal merchants would see average fees cut by about 0.10% points over five years and standard consumer-card rates capped at 1.25% for eight years. The networks also agree to loosen the “honor all cards” rule, giving merchants the option to decline higher-cost premium or commercial cards and the latitude to surcharge up to 3% when they choose. Visa’s shares were down 1.9%, and Mastercard’s stock dipped by 1.4%.

The Live pillar was 3.2% lower through the week. iRobot shares plunged 12%. The slide came in the wake of earnings earlier this month that showed a year-over-year decline in revenues, to $145.8 million, from $193.4 million in the 2024 third quarter. The company notched a $9.9 million non-GAAP operating loss in the third quarter, compared to a $15.1 million operating profit last year.  The cash position has also been negatively impacted, as cash and equivalents were $24.8 million in the September quarter, down from $40.6  million in the second quarter. “At this time, Company has no sources upon which it can draw for additional capital,” iRobot said in its earnings release.

Enablers, as a group, were 2.3% lower, as Cogent Communications shares plunged by 27%. The company reported in its own quarterly report that service revenues were 5.9% lower year over year to $241.9 million. Total customer connections decreased by 6.4% year over year.

C3.ai shares lost 8.8%. Sites such as Reuters reported this week that the firm is weighing a sale in the wake of revenue declines in the double digits and the recent departure of its CEO due to health reasons.

Also within the Enablers pantheon, PYMNTS noted this week that Apple reached a payments agreement with Tencent. Apple shares were 1.7% higher.

The new arrangement will see Apple handle payments and take a 15% cut of purchases of mini games and apps from Tencent’s WeChat social media platform. The arrangement gives Apple a new revenue stream and relieves pressure on Tencent, according to reports. Apple had pushed the company to eliminate a loophole that let app creators send users to outside payment systems to get around the standard 30% iPhone commission.