Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL), the issuer of the world’s second-largest stablecoin, saw its shares surge 23% on Wednesday after reporting a strong fourth-quarter profit, driven by growing demand for its USDC stablecoin.
The company posted revenue of $770 million, beating analyst estimates of $744 million and marking a 77% increase from a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.43, well above expectations of $0.16, while adjusted EBITDA reached $167 million, reflecting a margin of 54%.
USDC, Circle’s flagship stablecoin, grew to $75.3 billion in circulation at the end of the quarter, up 72% year-over-year. On-chain transaction volume for the stablecoin surged 247% to $11.9 trillion.
Other key metrics highlighted a 136% year-over-year rise in revenue less distribution costs (RLDC) to $309 million, with RLDC margin improving to 40% from the prior year. The number of meaningful wallets increased 59% to 6.8 million, and Circle’s share of the stablecoin market rose to 28%, up 426 basis points.
Looking ahead, the company expects FY’26 other revenue between $150 million and $170 million, RLDC margins of 38 to 40%, and adjusted operating expenses of $570 to 585 million.
CEO Jeremy Allaire said, “We are entering a world where, in my view, tens or even hundreds of billions of AI agents will interact and perform economic functions over the Internet.
“2025 was a milestone year for Circle and our industry, and still just the outset of these megatrends that will drive enormous change in how our economic system works,” Allaire added. “We are building the internet financial platform infrastructure to drive these changes.”