Circle Internet Group reported third-quarter revenue and reserve income of $865 million, a 17% increase from the prior year that exceeded analyst expectations. Net income from continuing operations rose 5% to $226 million, and adjusted EBITDA climbed 85% to $317 million. The company also disclosed a workforce reduction of approximately 5% that generated $9.1 million in restructuring expenses.

Financial Results Driven by One-Time Token Revenue

Total revenue and reserve income reached $865 million for the three months ended September 30, 2026. The figure beat the consensus estimate of roughly $778 million. Diluted adjusted earnings per share came in at 84 cents.

Reserve income, generated mainly from interest on assets backing USDC, fell 8% year over year to $658 million. The decline stemmed from a drop in the average reserve return rate of 61 basis points to 3.5%. Average USDC in circulation rose 8% to $73.3 billion, which partially offset the lower yields. Circulation at quarter-end stood essentially unchanged at $73.9 billion.

Other revenue jumped to $207 million from about $29 million a year earlier. Of that amount, $182 million came from the private presale of ARC, the native token of Circle’s Arc blockchain. Without the token proceeds, overall revenue and reserve income would have declined from the prior-year level.

Distribution, transaction and related costs decreased 8% to approximately $409–412 million. Operating expenses rose 16% to $245 million, reflecting higher spending on technology, administration, depreciation and marketing.

Workforce Reduction and Restructuring Charge

In footnotes to its earnings release, Circle stated that it reduced its workforce by about 5% during the quarter. The company described the step as designed to better align its organizational structure with its operating model and strategic priorities. It did not disclose the exact number of affected employees or the teams involved.

The reduction produced $9.1 million in restructuring expenses, consisting primarily of notice-period pay, severance, employee benefits and related costs. A partial offset came from the reversal of stock-based compensation tied to forfeited awards.

The cuts occurred in a profitable period and were not listed among the company’s business highlights. Circle has not provided further public commentary on the scale or timing of the reductions beyond the disclosure in its financial filing.

USDC Activity and Market Position

On-chain transaction volume for USDC increased 49% to $13.9 trillion. Issuance and redemptions each totaled $104 billion during the quarter. The number of wallets holding more than $10 in USDC rose 16% to 7.3 million.

USDC’s share of the fiat-backed stablecoin market declined to 27%, a drop of roughly 1.83 percentage points from a year earlier. Despite the lower market share, the company noted continued growth in institutional and payment usage.

Arc Blockchain Launch and Payments Expansion

Circle launched the public mainnet of its Arc blockchain on September 16. The network began with more than 100 institutional and ecosystem builders and 11 founding validators. Circle minted an initial supply of 10 billion ARC tokens. The company plans a transition toward proof-of-stake in 2027 and continues work on privacy and scalability features.

The Circle Payments Network recorded $41.3 billion in annualized transaction volume. That figure marked a substantial increase from the $14.7 billion annualized rate reported at the end of the second quarter.

Circle also reaffirmed its agreement to acquire Singapore-based cross-border payments provider Tazapay in a stock deal valued at approximately $400 million. Tazapay handles more than $25 billion in annualized volume across more than 100 markets, with roughly 60% already involving stablecoins. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in 2027.

During the quarter, Binance invested $100 million in Circle equity through a private placement of about 1.24 million shares and extended a five-year commercial partnership focused on USDC distribution.

Share Price Reaction

Circle shares closed the prior session near $75.22 after a gain of more than 4%. In early trading following the earnings release, the stock showed mixed movement, with some reports of premarket declines ranging from about 1% to more than 3%.

The company maintained its full-year adjusted operating expense guidance in the range of $570 million to $585 million.

CEO Jeremy Allaire described the quarter as significant for platform milestones, citing the Arc mainnet launch, growth in the payments network and readiness for the GENIUS Act, which is scheduled to take effect in January.