Shares of Circle Internet Group (CRCL) climbed roughly 30% on Wednesday to nearly $80, building on pre-market momentum following the company’s fourth-quarter earnings beat and multi-year USDC growth targets.
The move comes after Circle reported $770 million in fourth-quarter revenue and reserve income, up 77% year-over-year, and guided to a 40% compound annual growth rate in USDC circulation over the coming years.
In a note following the results, William Blair reiterated its “outperform” rating and said it views Circle as “among a short list of high-quality crypto infrastructure plays within public markets today.”
Analysts Andrew Jeffrey and Adib Choudhury pointed to a more than 40% fourth-quarter revenue-less-distribution-cost margin — a measure similar to gross profit that strips out payments to distribution partners — 240 basis points above their model, driven in part by a higher mix of USDC held directly on Circle’s platform, now nearly 18% of average circulation.
Adjusted EBITDA of $167 million also topped expectations, beating William Blair’s estimate by 12%.
Shares now trade at roughly 17x William Blair’s 2027 EBITDA estimate, an 8% premium to fintech peers, according to the note.
USDC transaction volume explodes
Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Wednesday, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire pointed to growing transaction activity, saying USDC now accounts for “about 50%” of stablecoin transaction volume measured by Visa, up from just over a third in the prior quarter.
He added that onchain USDC transaction volume rose more than 250% year-over-year to roughly $12 trillion in the quarter.
Allaire also argued that stablecoin utility is increasingly decoupling from bitcoin’s price swings, framing USDC growth as tied more to payments, commerce, and financial infrastructure than to crypto speculation.
While he acknowledged growing competition, including initiatives from major banks, he described stablecoins as durable infrastructure businesses where scale and network effects tend to consolidate activity among a small number of players.
CRCL traded around $79.41 at publication time, according to The Block’s price data.
© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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