---
type: "Topics"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/topics/40626516.md"
description: "Circle 1Q26 First Take: With USDC supply and reserve asset yields publicly known, interest income, ~95% of revenue, is largely predictable. As a result, Circle's share price tends to move with USDC, essentially tracking rate-cut expectations and shifts in crypto policy. The real delta in the print lies in non-interest income. It also reflects internal operating efficiency and guidance that signals mid-to-long-term strategic goals. Q1 results looked softer than expected. Core indicators did not miss. (1) Revenue delta: Mostly from interest income, which is driven by the above public data and timing lags. Other revenue tied to ecosystem expansion (CPN, Arc chain, etc.) beat. USDC Avg. circulating supply was $75.2bn, down QoQ on weaker crypto trading activity, while USDC's stablecoin market share held flat at 28%. (2) Profit under pressure: OP declined markedly YoY. In a rigid investment cycle, when the largest component, interest income, is hit, profits are highly sensitive. However, as the share of USDC retained on Circle's platform continued to rise (up 100bps QoQ to 18%), the external revenue-sharing ratio on reserve interest dipped by 100bps. This should keep optimizing and lift profitability. Additionally, mgmt kept FY26 Adj. opex guidance at $570–585mn. That is better than the market's higher spend assumption of $725mn. (3) Call focus: The CLARITY Act saw fresh progress last week, with a compromise framework moving forward though details remain to be clarified. Coinbase mgmt expects enactment by late summer; watch Circle mgmt's comments for corroboration. Also watch how mgmt plans to balance elevated current investment with future output, and the pacing of that transition. $Circle(CRCL.US)"
datetime: "2026-05-11T11:54:06.000Z"
locales:
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/topics/40626516.md)
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/topics/40626516.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/topics/40626516.md)
author: "[Dolphin Research](https://longbridge.com/en/news/dolphin.md)"
---

# Circle 1Q26 First Take: With USDC supply and reser…


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