A Circle shareholder wanted to know when the growing use of its digital dollar would deliver more earnings. Chief Executive Jeremy Allaire pointed to newer businesses, while the company's fin
A Circle shareholder wanted to know when the growing use of its digital dollar would deliver more earnings. Chief Executive Jeremy Allaire pointed to newer businesses, while the company's finance chief held back a forecast for next year.
The exchange came during Circle Internet Group's Nov. 4 earnings call, when Scott Blair, its head of strategic finance and investor relations, read a question submitted by a retail shareholder identified as Rachel through the Say platform.
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She asked why "revenue and profitability has not kept pace with the adoption of USDC," according to the company's corrected call transcript.
"What milestones should investors watch over the next 12 to 18 months to assess Circle's ability to grow earnings beyond interest income," Blair read.
"When do you expect noninterest revenue to become a meaningful contributor?"
Circle, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under CRCL, issues USDC, a cryptocurrency designed to keep a value of $1. The question was about the company's earnings, not whether the digital dollar was holding its price.
Circle was profitable in the quarter. The shareholder's concern was how the business would earn more from adoption without relying so heavily on interest.
Circle earns reserve income on the assets backing its stablecoins. Lower interest rates can reduce that income even when more USDC is in circulation.
Allaire answered Rachel's question by pointing to Arc, Circle's blockchain network, and Circle Payments Network, its service for moving money across borders. He also cited the planned acquisition of payments company Tazapay and a future change to how Arc operates.
"These other platform investments have been investments and now they're starting to generate real income and returns for us, as shown even in this quarter's results," Allaire said.
Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Fox-Geen added a limit to the answer.
"And I'd just add, we're not commenting at this time on our other revenue outlook for the financial year 2027," he said. "We'll do that at our next earnings when we give more formal guidance."
Management described the businesses it expects to generate more revenue, but did not give Rachel a 2027 other-revenue forecast in that exchange.
The quarter's earnings release shows why revenue beyond interest is drawing attention. Reserve income fell 8% from a year earlier to $657.6 million, as the average return on reserves fell to 3.5%.
Average USDC in circulation rose 8% to $73.3 billion. USDC transaction volume on blockchains rose faster, increasing 49% to $13.9 trillion.
Total revenue and reserve income grew 17% to $864.9 million, while net income from continuing operations rose 5% to $226 million. Those measures grew at different rates, and transaction volume is not the same as revenue Circle collects.
Other revenue reached $207.3 million, including $182 million from the ARC token presale. That contribution was separate from interest on the reserves backing USDC.
TheStreet's earlier earnings coverage examined the presale's contribution and Circle's 5% workforce reduction.
A second shareholder-submitted question, from Jessica, asked how Circle would return USDC circulation to sustained growth while protecting margins as competition increased.
Allaire said Circle would keep investing in distribution partnerships and argued that its liquidity and infrastructure gave it an advantage over newer stablecoins.
"I think ultimately, we see this as a multitrillion-dollar market and we want to make sure in a winner take most structure, we're the most of the most," he said.
Fox-Geen said the company expected growing use of USDC to support circulation growth over the longer term. The release put quarter-end circulation at $73.9 billion, unchanged from a year earlier, even as average circulation during the quarter increased.
Circle kept its full-year 2026 other-revenue forecast at $310 million to $330 million. That range includes the ARC presale.
The company expects the Tazapay acquisition to close in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. Its payments business and Arc expansion therefore include plans that still need to be completed, alongside services already operating.
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