Circle Stock Surges Over 35% on Exceptional Q4 Performance and Robust USDC Growth

Stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) experienced a dramatic surge in its stock price on Wednesday, climbing over 35% to reach a high of $83.14. This impressive leap was fueled by the company’s better-than-anticipated financial results for the fourth quarter of 2025, successfully extending strong pre-market momentum.

Stellar Q4 2025 Financial Highlights

According to Circle’s recently released Q4 2025 financial report, the company delivered a powerful performance. Total revenue and reserve income for the quarter soared to an impressive $770 million, marking a substantial 77% increase compared to the same period in the prior year. This growth was underpinned by the robust expansion of its flagship stablecoin, USDC, which saw its circulation reach $75.3 billion by the end of last year, representing a remarkable 72% year-over-year rise.

Reserve Income Drives Revenue Growth

A deeper dive into the financial breakdown reveals that Circle’s revenue growth was predominantly driven by its “reserve income,” which hit $733 million in Q4. While the evolving interest rate environment led to a 68 basis point decline in reserve yield to 3.8%, the average circulation of USDC more than doubled to $76.2 billion. This significant increase in volume successfully compensated for the lower yield, demonstrating Circle’s ability to maintain strong overall profitability through scale.

Dramatic Improvement in Profitability

Circle’s profitability metrics showed substantial improvement. Net income from continuing operations for Q4 reached $133 million, a significant leap from just $4 million reported in the same quarter of 2024. Furthermore, adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization), a key indicator of core operational profitability, skyrocketed by an astonishing 412% year-over-year to $167 million.

USDC: Powering Global Financial Infrastructure

Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, emphasized in the earnings report that Q4 marked a pivotal milestone in the company’s mission to build an “open, programmable internet financial infrastructure.” He highlighted the accelerating global adoption of USDC, noting that an increasing number of businesses, developers, and public institutions are actively integrating the digital dollar into their payment systems, fund management strategies, and on-chain financial processes.

Navigating Full-Year Performance and IPO Impact

While the fourth quarter painted a picture of strong growth, Circle reported a net loss of $70 million from continuing operations for the full fiscal year 2025. This contrasts with a net profit of $157 million in 2024. The company clarified that this full-year decline was primarily due to a one-time, non-cash stock-based compensation expense of $424 million, triggered following its Initial Public Offering (IPO). This adjustment underscores the underlying operational strength despite the accounting impact.

Ambitious Growth Targets and Market Position

Looking ahead, Circle has unveiled ambitious multi-year growth targets, projecting that USDC circulation will maintain a robust Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 40%. Achieving this goal would significantly bolster USDC’s market share within the stablecoin ecosystem. Currently, Tether (USDT) remains the dominant player, boasting a circulation of approximately $183 billion.

Analyst Endorsement and Transaction Volume Surge

Following the impressive earnings report, investment bank William Blair reiterated its “Outperform” rating for Circle, recognizing the company as one of the few high-quality cryptocurrency infrastructure providers available in the public market.

Further underscoring USDC’s growing utility, Jeremy Allaire revealed in an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box that, based on Visa’s statistics, USDC now accounts for approximately 50% of all stablecoin transaction volume. This marks a substantial increase from roughly one-third in the preceding quarter. The quarterly on-chain USDC transaction volume alone surged by over 250% year-over-year, reaching an astounding $12 trillion.