Circle Posts Q3 Revenue of $865M as $182M ARC Sale Offsets Reserve Yield Drop

Circle reported third-quarter diluted earnings per share of $0.84, up from $0.64 a year earlier, as a $182 million revenue contribution from its ARC token presale cushioned shrinking interest margins on its flagship stablecoin reserves ¹. Total revenue and reserve income climbed 17% year over year to $865 million, according to quarterly earnings reported on Nov. 4 ¹. However, excluding the ARC token sale, revenue and reserve income fell approximately 8% to $683 million ¹. Circle's public shares traded down 0.84% at $74.59 following the disclosure ¹.

Income from reserves backing $USDC fell 8% year over year to $657.6 million ¹. Although average circulation grew 8% year over year—closing September at $73.9 billion—the average reserve yield declined 61 basis points to 3.5% ¹. The Federal Reserve raised its target range to 3.75%–4% in September, remaining beneath the 4%–4.25% range seen the prior year ¹. USDC's market share contracted by 1.83 percentage points to 27%, facing pressure from rival offerings such as Open Standard's Open USD, which went live on Solana by Sept. 30 with partners including Coinbase and Stripe ¹. The shift follows earlier disclosures detailing how distribution costs weigh on earnings, with Circle disclosing USDC economics and partner payouts earlier in the year ¹.

Arc Blockchain and Payments Strategy

The earnings outline Circle's planned transition from a pure interest-rate beneficiary to an application-layer ecosystem ¹. Arc, the firm's dedicated blockchain for financial applications, launched its public mainnet on Sept. 16, 2026 ¹. While transaction gas fees on Arc are settled in USDC, the ARC token will govern the network and support consensus when it converts to proof of stake in 2027, unlocking protocol staking rewards for the company ¹. Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Fox-Geen noted during the earnings call that Circle anticipates material revenue from its payments network in 2027 ¹. Alongside the results, Circle reduced its workforce by 5% to realign operational expenses with strategic targets ¹.