Circle reported 17% revenue growth and an earnings beat, but stripping out ARC presales reveals weaker underlying performance despite soaring USDC adoption.

Circle's $182 million ARC token presale drove its third-quarter earnings surprise even as its core USDC reserve income declined.

The stablecoin issuer reported adjusted EBITDA of $317 million, substantially exceeding Wall Street's $218 million consensus estimate and Clear Street's $220 million forecast.

However, the investment bank said the earnings beat was primarily driven by ARC token presale revenue, which exceeded its $90 million projection by $92 million. Excluding that contribution, Circle's adjusted EBITDA would have been approximately $135 million, down from $143 million in the preceding quarter.

The same divergence appeared in revenue. Circle reported a 17% increase in total revenue and reserve income to $865 million, but excluding the token presale would have left approximately $683 million, below the $740 million recorded a year earlier.

Its traditional reserve business remained under pressure despite growing stablecoin adoption. Reserve income fell 8% to $658 million as the average yield on USDC reserves declined by 61 basis points to 3.5%, offsetting an 8% increase in average circulation.

Q3 2026 results, announced Nov. 4: reserve income fell 8%, while ARC recognition lifted total revenue and reserve income.

Subtracting recognized ARC presale revenue leaves about $683M, below Q3 2025's roughly $740M.

Token-sale recognition lifted the quarterly total; it does not establish recurring Arc fee income.

Revenue subtraction is illustrative, not an adjusted profit measure. Presale gross proceeds differ from Q3 cash collections.

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