Coinbase, Robinhood and Circle have spent years trying to make money beyond crypto trading. Their third-quarter 2026 earnings, reported in late October and early November, show how hard that is proving to be.
All three companies are expanding into stablecoins, payments, lending, custody, prediction markets and banking products. But their latest results show that those newer businesses have not insulated them from weaker trading activity and pressure on profits, according to CoinDesk's analysis published on 6 November 2026.
Here is what each company reported, and what it means.
Coinbase: transaction revenue down 23% to $590 million
Coinbase's third-quarter transaction revenue fell 23% from a year earlier to $590 million, according to CoinDesk. Consumer spot trading volume dropped 9% from the previous quarter, while institutional transaction revenue fell 8% quarter-on-quarter.
Total revenue held near $1.22 billion, and adjusted EBITDA rose 60% from the previous quarter to $333 million — but that improvement came mainly from lower expenses and growth in newer products, not from stronger trading, according to CoinDesk and FXCoinz.
Analysts were split on what the numbers mean. StoneX analyst Mark Palmer said the results show Coinbase's reliance on spot crypto trading remains a problem. Clear Street's Owen Lau said the earnings beat came from lower costs, not stronger trading. Barclays cut its price target to $120 from $149, citing a weak fourth-quarter outlook, while Oppenheimer raised its target to $207 on growth in stablecoins and prediction markets.
Coinbase's newer lines are growing, but they come with costs of their own. Its prediction markets and derivatives now account for about a quarter of transaction revenue, with daily users up more than 60% from the previous quarter, according to FXCoinz.
The stablecoin business tells a similar story. Stablecoin revenue slipped about 5% year-on-year, while rewards paid to users rose about 16%, so the amount Coinbase kept after rewards fell about 17%, according to Coindoo's analysis of Coinbase's Q3 2026 Form 10-Q. Coinbase shares (COIN) were trading at around $132.13 at the close on 10 November 2026.
Circle: reserve income down 8% to $658 million
Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, faced a different problem: lower interest rates.
Reserve income — the money Circle earns on the cash and Treasury securities backing USDC — fell 8% from a year earlier to $658 million, as lower rates reduced returns, according to CoinDesk. USDC supply stood at $73.9 billion at the end of September, almost unchanged from a year earlier.
Yet Circle's headline revenue looked stronger. Total revenue and reserve income rose 17% to $865 million — but $182 million of that came from the presale of tokens for Arc, Circle's new blockchain. Without that one-off token sale, revenue would have fallen about 8%, according to Coindoo.
The usage numbers underneath are strong. USDC transaction volume rose 49% from a year earlier to $13.9 trillion, showing that people are using the stablecoin more even as the economics get tougher. Circle also cut its workforce by 5% in its latest earnings statement.
Circle shares (CRCL) were trading at around $64.96–$64.98 at the close on 10 November 2026, and had fallen 11% over the previous five days — the worst of the three stocks — according to CoinDesk.
Robinhood: crypto revenue fell, event contracts filled the gap
Robinhood posted record quarterly revenue of $1.42 billion, up 12% from a year earlier, according to Coindoo's analysis of its SEC filing. But inside that total, the crypto story was weak.
Cryptocurrency revenue fell from $268 million to $120 million, while event-contract revenue — trading on sports results, elections and other events — rose from $27 million to $173 million. In other words, the gap left by crypto trading was filled by trading on events, not by crypto itself.
The bottom line
For now, the Q3 earnings season has delivered a clear message: crypto companies can grow new businesses, but making money from them in a weak market is another story.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not financial advice. Stock and cryptocurrency prices are volatile and you can lose money. Do your own research before making any investment decision.
Sources: CoinDesk, "The crypto industry has found new ways to grow" (6 Nov 2026); FXCoinz, "Crypto Firms Diversify, but Trading Slump Bites"; Coindoo, "Busier, Not Richer: Robinhood, Coinbase and Circle in Q3" (6 Nov 2026); Finnhub market data, 10–11 Nov 2026.
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