Circle shares fall as revenue miss overshadows quarterly profit beat

Circle Internet Group beat Wall Street’s profit expectations and still managed to disappoint. The USDC stablecoin issuer reported second-quarter revenue and reserve income of $701 million, a 7% year-over-year increase that nonetheless landed well below analyst estimates in the $712 million to $718 million range. Shares fell roughly 3% in premarket trading, erasing an earlier pop that came when the profit numbers hit the tape. Adjusted earnings per share of 18 cents topped the 16 cents consensus, and net income from continuing operations came in at $48 million. The interest rate problem Reserve income hit $668 million for the quarter, up 5% from a year earlier. That sounds fine until you notice the reserve return rate dropped by 66 basis points year over year. Circle is holding more reserves than ever but earning less on each dollar. USDC circulation stood at $73.3 billion at quarter’s end, a robust 19% jump from the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $143 million, an 8% year-over-year increase that beat estimates. Onchain activity tells a different story Onchain transaction volume surged 151% year over year to $14.8 trillion. Transaction volume more than doubled whil...