Blockchain infrastructure company Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) reported Q3 CY2025 results topping the market’s revenue expectations, with sales up 55.1% year on year to $1.87 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.44 per share was 23.2% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
Is now the time to buy COIN? Find out in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).
Coinbase (COIN) Q3 CY2025 Highlights:
- Revenue: $1.87 billion vs analyst estimates of $1.78 billion (55.1% year-on-year growth, 4.9% beat)
- Adjusted EPS: $1.44 vs analyst estimates of $1.17 (23.2% beat)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $801 million vs analyst estimates of $716.4 million (42.9% margin, 11.8% beat)
- Operating Margin: 25.7%, up from 14.1% in the same quarter last year
- Market Capitalization: $84.41 billion
StockStory’s Take
Coinbase’s third quarter was marked by outperformance relative to Wall Street’s expectations, as the company delivered robust growth in both revenue and adjusted profitability. Management attributed these results to broad-based expansion across its trading platform, particularly through the rollout of new derivatives products and the integration of decentralized exchange (DEX) assets. CEO Brian Armstrong highlighted, “We turbocharged our trading platform in Q3 by adding DEX integrations, expanding access from about 300 to over 40,000 assets in the U.S.” Additionally, the company saw strong institutional adoption and early benefits from recent acquisitions, which helped lift both transaction volumes and market share.
Looking ahead, Coinbase’s strategy centers on building the 'Everything Exchange'—a unified platform for trading a broad array of financial assets—and scaling adoption of stablecoin-based payments. Management emphasized continued investment in new asset classes, cross-market trading capabilities, and automation, while recognizing that operating expenses are set to rise due to recent acquisitions and headcount additions. CFO Alesia Haas stated, “As we look to early 2026, we plan to absorb the employees we brought into the company and focus on execution,” underscoring an expectation for slower expense growth after the current period of investment.
Key Insights from Management’s Remarks
Management highlighted new product rollouts, expanded asset coverage, and acquisition-driven growth as the main contributors to the quarter’s financial strength.
- Expanded asset access: The integration of decentralized exchanges (DEX) increased tradable assets from 300 to over 40,000 in the U.S., enabling immediate exposure to new tokens.
- Derivatives growth: Coinbase launched CFTC-regulated perpetual futures for U.S. customers and completed the acquisition of Deribit, significantly boosting derivatives and options trading volumes, particularly among institutional clients.
- Stablecoin payments momentum: The company reported surging adoption of USDC (a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin), with Coinbase customers holding an average of $15 billion in USDC and its role in global payments growing rapidly.
- Institutional business expansion: Institutional transaction revenue more than doubled, driven by demand for derivatives and cross-market trading, as well as new white glove services for high-value traders.
- Strategic M&A activity: The acquisitions of Deribit and Echo provided new capabilities in options trading and capital formation, supporting Coinbase’s goal to vertically integrate across the digital asset value chain.
Drivers of Future Performance
Coinbase’s outlook hinges on the continued rollout of new asset classes, stablecoin adoption, and scaling its Everything Exchange vision.
- Asset class diversification: Management is focused on adding new asset types, including tokenized stocks and prediction markets, to attract a broader user base and capture more transaction activity across financial products.
- Stablecoin and payments expansion: The company expects stablecoin payments to become a major growth area, with initiatives targeting both business-to-business (B2B) and consumer segments and citing early success in onboarding over 1,000 businesses.
- Cost discipline amid investment: While operating expenses are expected to rise in the near term due to acquisitions and headcount, management indicated that expense growth will slow after this investment cycle, aiming for improved profitability as new products scale.
Catalysts in Upcoming Quarters
Going forward, the StockStory team will be tracking (1) the pace of new asset class integrations and the expansion timeline for the Everything Exchange, (2) adoption rates for stablecoin-based payment solutions among businesses and retail users, and (3) the operational integration and cross-selling of Deribit’s options and Echo’s capital formation services. Progress on automation, margin discipline, and regulatory developments will also be important signposts for execution.
Coinbase currently trades at $340.09, up from $329.13 just before the earnings. At this price, is it a buy or sell? See for yourself in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).
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