Block ships 3x more features in 2026 with a smaller team, crediting AI tools

Block, Inc. shipped 130 new features in the first half of 2026. In the same six months of 2025, that number was 42. The fintech company formerly known as Square has managed to get meaningfully faster while simultaneously getting smaller. Fewer people, more output, and fewer things breaking in production. The numbers that matter Code changes per engineer at Block have risen 150% since the start of 2026. Production incident rates fell by more than 70% year-over-year in Q1 2026. The company credits three internal AI systems for driving most of this change: Goose, Builderbot, and Buzz. These tools handle coding and collaborative tasks across the organization. When the company says AI tools account for most code changes, it means the ratio of human-written to machine-assisted code has shifted dramatically in a matter of months. What this means for the business Block has raised its full-year gross profit guidance multiple times in 2026, now projecting a range of $12.2 to $12.51 billion. That represents year-over-year growth of 18 to 21%. The company has been open about undergoing significant organizational changes. Management has leaned into this framing during earnings calls and investo...