Circle posts $865 million in Q3 revenue and reserve income, cuts 5% of staff

Circle posts $865 million in Q3 revenue and reserve income, cuts 5% of staff

Circle Internet Group, Inc. (CRCL) reported $865 million in revenue and reserve income for the third quarter of 2026, up 17% from a year earlier, and disclosed a roughly 5% workforce reduction in its earnings release on 4 November.

The quarter looked strong on the surface: net income from continuing operations came in at $226 million, up from $214.4 million a year earlier, and adjusted EBITDA reached $317 million against $171.5 million in Q3 2025. But the composition of the growth matters as much as the total. Reserve income, the interest Circle earns on the reserves backing $USDC, fell 8% to $658 million as the return rate on those reserves declined by 61 basis points. What filled the gap was $182 million recognised from the $ARC token presale, within $207 million of other revenue that stood at just $29 million a year earlier.

The presale is not a recurring line. Circle agreed to sell $242.2 million worth of $ARC tokens at $0.30 each at a $3 billion fully diluted valuation, so roughly $60 million of that deal remains to be recognised, after which the company’s core rate-sensitive business returns to view. $USDC averaged $73.3 billion in circulation during the quarter, up 8% year over year, and onchain transaction volume hit $13.9 trillion, up 49%, yet circulation at quarter-end stood at $73.9 billion, flat against a year ago, and Circle’s stablecoin market share slipped to 27%.

A quieter cut, in a footnote

The workforce reduction appeared in a footnote to the earnings tables rather than the headline release. Circle booked $9.1 million in restructuring charges, mainly for notice period and severance payments, employee benefits and related costs, and said the cut was designed to “better align our organizational structure with our operating model and strategic priorities.” The company gave no headcount for the cuts; it employed roughly 1,100 people worldwide at the end of 2025, according to its annual report.

The trim sits alongside an expansion push. In September Circle agreed to acquire Tazapay, a Singapore-based payments firm processing more than $25 billion in annualized volume, with closing expected in 2027 subject to regulatory approvals, the same month Binance bought $100 million of Circle shares and signed a new five-year $USDC agreement, deepening the reach the issuer built with its UAE regulatory approval earlier this year. Operating expenses still rose 16% to $245 million on higher administrative, IT infrastructure and marketing costs, while distribution and transaction costs fell 8% to $412 million.

Guidance held

Circle kept its full-year 2026 guidance unchanged, including $310 million to $330 million in other revenue and $570 million to $585 million in adjusted operating expenses.