The Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) share price is taking a tumble today.
Again.
At time of writing on Friday, shares in the global S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) buy now, pay later (BNPL) stock – which acquired Afterpay in January 2022 – are trading for $71.16 apiece.
That's down 2.9% in intraday trading. And it puts the Block share price down 15.4% from last Friday's closing price of $84.11 a share.
For some context, the ASX 200 is down 3.6% over the week.
So, why is this leading ASX BNPL share getting walloped?
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Why is the Block share price getting hammered?
There's been no price-sensitive news out from the ASX BNPL stock this week.
However, it's worth noting that Block shares are dual-listed. And the stock fell 4.1% on the NYSE overnight. With one day of trade left to go in US markets, the Block share price is already down 14.8% on the NYSE for the week.
On Tuesday, which saw the BNPL stock close the day down 4.5%, Motley Fool analyst James Mickleboro noted one potential headwind:
The CEO of its key Square business, Alyssa Henry, will leave the company at the start of next month. Jack Dorsey, the company's Head and Chairperson, will take on the role of Square CEO.
But there are more headwinds than that management changeover.
Tech shares and any loss-making companies have been particularly hard hit this week.
That comes as investors are beginning to wake up to the reality that leading global central banks will likely keep interest rates higher for longer than most analysts have been forecasting.
While interest rates might not rise much further from here, high rates for another year or more will see the increased cost of debt repayments continue to drag on stocks holding a lot of debt.
In its quarterly update last month, Block reported a net loss of US$123 million for the three months.
And in a high interest rate environment, loss-making stocks priced with future growth in mind tend to get sold off.
Despite some strong monthly performance over the past year, the Block share price is now down 15% over 12 months.
