Circle shares climb after Q2 results, federal bank charter approval and higher guidance

Circle shares climb after Q2 results, federal bank charter approval and higher guidance

Fiona Craig

Wed, August 5, 2026 at 3:58 PM GMT+3 3 min read

Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) shares rose around 7% in pre-market trading after the stablecoin issuer reported second-quarter results in line with expectations, secured the first federal bank charter granted to a stablecoin company and raised parts of its full-year outlook.

The company also announced that BlackRock, Visa and Mastercard will serve as validators for its upcoming blockchain network.

Earnings meet expectations as revenue grows

Circle reported second-quarter earnings of $0.18 per share, matching the Wall Street consensus estimate.

Total revenue and reserve income increased 7% year over year to $701 million. As no analyst consensus was available for this metric, no beat or miss comparison could be made.

Net income from continuing operations reached $48 million, representing a year-over-year improvement of $530 million, largely reflecting lower stock-based compensation expenses following the company's initial public offering in the second quarter of 2025.

Adjusted EBITDA rose 8% to $143 million, although the adjusted EBITDA margin narrowed by 329 basis points to 50% as Circle continued investing in new products and services.

USDC growth supports reserve income

Reserve income increased 5% from a year earlier to $668 million, supported by a 25% increase in the average amount of USDC in circulation.

That growth was partly offset by a decline in the reserve return rate to 3.5%, down 66 basis points from the prior year.

Revenue less distribution costs (RLDC) increased 15% to $289 million, while the RLDC margin expanded by 302 basis points to 41%.

USDC in circulation reached $73.3 billion at the end of the quarter, up 19% year over year.

On-chain transaction volume surged 151% to $14.8 trillion during the period, although Circle's share of the stablecoin market edged down 66 basis points to 27%.

Regulatory approvals strengthen strategy

During the quarter, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency approved the creation of Circle National Trust, making it the first stablecoin company to receive a federal bank charter.

Separately, the New York Department of Financial Services authorised Circle New York Trust to operate as a digital asset-focused limited-purpose trust company.

Circle also continued expanding its payments infrastructure. The Circle Payments Network reached an annualised transaction volume of $14.7 billion over the 30 days leading up to quarter-end, an increase of 76% from the previous quarter.

The number of financial institutions participating in the network rose 29% quarter over quarter to 175.

Company raises parts of its 2026 outlook

Circle increased its full-year 2026 guidance for other revenue to between $310 million and $330 million, compared with its previous forecast of $150 million to $170 million.

The revised outlook includes recognised revenue from the Arc Token presale.

Management also raised its expected RLDC margin to a range of 41.7% to 43.7%, up from its previous guidance of 38% to 40%.

Adjusted operating expense guidance was left unchanged at between $570 million and $585 million.

Circle Internet Group stock price