Circle Reports First Quarter 2026 Results - Circle Internet Financial

/Pressroom/Circle Reports First Quarter 2026 Results .breadcrumbs.dark { color: var(--colors-all--white); } .breadcrumbs.dark a { color: var(--colors--jelly--300); } May 11, 2026Circle Reports First Quarter 2026 ResultsCompanyNEW YORK – MAY 11, 2026 — Circle Internet Group, Inc. (NYSE: CRCL) today announced results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026. Financial Highlights (Q1’26 vs. Q1’25) “Circle’s first quarter reflected strong execution against a much bigger opportunity: the rapid convergence of AI platforms and economic operating systems into a new internet stack,” said Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman at Circle. “With the ARC token presale, momentum behind the Arc network, and the launch of our Agent Stack, we are building trusted infrastructure for AI-native economic activity and a more programmable internet financial system.” Key Financial Results and Operating Indicators  The following table presents our key financial results and operating indicators, as well as the relevant GAAP measures, for the periods indicated: First Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights and Operating Results To give investors insight into our business and expectations, management is affirming its prior guidance on the following key performance indicators. However, this does not include the future financial impacts of ARC Token presale, Arc incentive programs, and future Arc revenue streams. Conference Call and Livestream Information Circle will host a conference call to discuss the results for the first quarter 2026 on May 11, 2026 at 8:00 am ET. Circle’s Investor Relations website at https://investor.circle.com will provide access to the live webcast, as well as a replay of the call and transcript shortly following earnings. In addition to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Circle uses its Investor Relations website (https://investor.circle.com), its blog (https://www.circle.com/blog), press releases (https://www.circle.com/pressroom), public conference calls and webcasts, its X feed (https://x.com/circle), and its Linkedin page (https://www.linkedin.com/company/circle-internet-financial) as a means of disclosing material nonpublic information, announcing upcoming investor conferences and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors should monitor these sites in addition to following Circle’s SEC filings.  This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our future operating results and financial position; our plans with respect to the anticipated future expenses and investments; expectations relating to certain of our key financial and operating metrics; our business strategy and plans; expectations relating to legal and regulatory proceedings; expectations relating to our industry, the regulatory environment, market conditions, trends and growth; expectations relating to customer behaviors and preferences; our market position; potential market opportunities; and our objectives for future operations. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “potential,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “could,” “would,” “project,” “plan,” “target,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s expectations, assumptions, and projections based on information available at the time the statements were made. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, including, but not limited to: intense and increasing competition from new and existing issuers offering competing products, combined with the rise of yield-bearing digital assets, including TMMFs, that are attractive to digital asset trading participants, may reduce market demand and circulation of Circle stablecoins; stablecoins may face periods of uncertainty, loss of trust, or systemic shocks resulting in the potential for rapid redemption requests (or runs), and extreme scenarios, such as market shocks that affect the value of USDC’s reserves or simultaneous requests to redeem all or substantially all USDC in circulation, or concerns related to Circle stablecoin reserves, may lead to redemption delays and USDC reserves being insufficient to meet all redemption requests; as a relatively new innovation, stablecoins are particularly susceptible to operational challenges and risks, including due to surges in demand; any negative publicity regarding stablecoins or the broader digital asset industry may have an outsized negative effect on consumer confidence; the acceptance of Circle stablecoins could be negatively impacted by disruptions in secondary marketplaces that facilitate the purchase and sale of Circle stablecoins; the GENIUS Act will change the payment stablecoin ecosystem and may affect our business in ways that cannot yet be known; the GENIUS Act amends the U.S. federal securities laws to explicitly exclude from the definition of “security” payment stablecoins issued by PPSIs, which will include USDC, however, until those amendments are effective, we will continue to rely on our conclusion that USDC is not a security under the U.S. federal securities laws; we hold a substantial amount of USDC reserves in the Circle Reserve Fund and thus are subject to risks associated with the issuer, the manager, and the custodian of the Circle Reserve Fund; any significant disruption in our or our third-party service providers’ or partners’ technology could result in a loss of customers or funds and adversely impact our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects; our customers’ funds and digital assets may fail to be adequately safeguarded by us or the third-party service providers upon whom we rely; our inability to maintain existing relationships with financial institutions and similar firms or to enter into new such relationships could impact our ability to offer services to customers; we are subject to credit risks in respect of counterparties, including banks and other financial institutions; if we are unable to maintain existing distribution arrangements or enter into additional distribution arrangements on less favorable financial terms, USDC and EURC in circulation and Circle’s financial results may be adversely affected; Arc and the ARC Token involve execution, market, and operational risk, including risks relating to launch timing, ecosystem adoption in a competitive blockchain market, technology and cybersecurity vulnerabilities, validator and governance dynamics, token price volatility, and the operational complexity of running the network and related treasury infrastructure; Arc and the ARC Token present legal, regulatory, and structural risk, including uncertainty under securities and other financial regulatory regimes, risks arising from token presale and distribution arrangements, potential liability tied to third-party ecosystem participants, conflicts and governance issues during any transition to decentralization, and possible repayment obligations if key launch milestones are not achieved; our products and services may be exploited by our customers, employees, service providers, and other third parties to facilitate illegal activity such as fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, gambling, tax evasion, and scams; our compliance and risk management methods might not be effective; fluctuations in interest rates could impact our results of operations; we are subject to an extensive and highly evolving regulatory landscape; the regulatory environment to which we are subject gives rise to various licensing requirements, significant compliance costs and other restrictions, and noncompliance could result in a range of penalties, including fines, compliance costs, operational restrictions, reputational damage, and loss of licenses; we are subject to laws, regulations, and executive orders regarding economic and trade sanctions, anti-bribery, AML, and counter-terrorism financing that could impair our ability to compete in international markets or subject us to criminal or civil liability if we violate them; and insiders will continue to have substantial control over Circle and limit shareholders’ ability to influence the outcome of key transactions, including a change of control. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. For a detailed discussion of the risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or expressed in any forward-looking statements, see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 filed with the SEC on March 9, 2026 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026 to be filed with the SEC. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons if actual results differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Nothing in this communication constitutes an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities or an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity.  Circle (NYSE: CRCL) is a global financial technology firm that enables businesses of all sizes to harness the power of digital currencies and public blockchains for payments, commerce and financial applications worldwide. Circle is building the world’s largest, most-widely used, stablecoin network, and issues, through its regulated affiliates, USDC and EURC stablecoins. Circle provides a comprehensive suite of financial and technology services that empower enterprises and developers to integrate stablecoins and blockchains into their products, services and business operations. The following table summarizes certain key financial performance measures derived from our unaudited quarterly consolidated statements of operations data for each of the three months ended March 31, 2025, June 30, 2025, September 30, 2025, December 31, 2025, and March 31, 2026. The information for each of these periods has been prepared on the same basis as our audited annual consolidated financial statements and, in the opinion of management, reflects all adjustments of a normal, recurring nature that are necessary for the fair statement of the results of operations for these periods. We report our financial results in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). However, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Operating Expenses are non-GAAP financial measures regarding our operational performance.  Management and our board of directors use non-GAAP financial measures to (i) monitor and evaluate the growth and performance of our business operations, (ii) evaluate our historical and prospective financial performance as well as our performance relative to our competitors, (iii) review and assess the performance of our management team and other employees, and (iv) prepare budgets and evaluate strategic investments. Accordingly, we believe that non-GAAP measures provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results in the same manner as our management and board of directors. Non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Operating Expenses, have limitations as financial measures and should not be relied upon as substitutes for, or considered in isolation from, measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as net income (loss) from continuing operations excluding: net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests; depreciation and amortization expenses; interest expense, net of amortization of discounts and premiums; interest income; income tax expense (benefit); stock-based compensation expense and payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation; certain legal expenses; realized and unrealized (gains) losses, net, on digital assets held for investment, other related investments and strategic investments; realized (gains) losses on available-for-sale debt securities; impairment losses on strategic investments; restructuring expenses; acquisition-related costs; change in fair value of convertible debt, warrant liability, embedded derivatives and U.S. Treasury securities; charitable contributions to Circle Foundation; losses on sale of long-lived assets; and foreign currency exchange (gains) losses.  Beginning in the first quarter of 2026, we have amended the above definition of Adjusted EBITDA to exclude payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation, because these taxes are directly related to stock-based compensation expense which is already excluded from Adjusted EBITDA. These expenses represent employer payroll taxes related to the vesting and settlement of certain equity awards, and are variable with our stock price and other factors outside of our control.  We believe it is useful to exclude non-cash charges, such as depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expense, and change in fair value of various financial instruments as well as certain cash charges such as payroll tax related to stock-based compensation from Adjusted EBITDA because the amount of such expenses in any specific period may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of our business operations. We believe it is useful to exclude income tax expense (benefit), interest income, interest expense, and non-routine items as these items are not components of our core business operations. Adjusted Operating Expenses excludes depreciation and amortization, charitable contributions to Circle Foundation, digital assets losses (gains), and stock-based compensation. Beginning in the first quarter of 2026, we have amended the definition of Adjusted Operating Expenses to exclude (a) payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation, because these taxes are directly related to stock-based compensation expense which is already excluded from Adjusted Operating Expenses and these taxes are variable with our stock price and other factors outside of our control (which will also be reflected in Adjusted EBITDA as discussed above), as well as (b) certain one-time legal expenses, acquisition-related costs, and where relevant, restructuring expenses, as they reflect the same adjustments as in Adjusted EBITDA. We believe it is useful to exclude certain non-cash charges from Adjusted Operating Expenses because the amount of such expenses in any specific period may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of our business operations. We have provided a reconciliation below of Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income (loss) from Continuing Operations and of Adjusted Operating Expenses to Operating Expenses, in each case, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.