Coinbase (COIN) earnings Q1 2026

Coinbase reported lower-than-expected first-quarter results as crypto prices fell, putting pressure on spot trading of digital assets, one of the companies’ biggest revenue drivers.

Here’s how coinbase Here’s how it performed in the quarter ended March 31, compared to Wall Street expectations, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: Loss of $1.49 versus expected profit of 27 cents
• Revenues: 1.41 billion dollars, while the expectation was 1.52 billion dollars

Coinbase shares were down 4% in after-hours trading.

The company, which operates the largest cryptocurrency marketplace in the United States, reported transaction revenue of $755.8 million, versus the $805.2 million analysts expected. Subscription revenue came in at $583.5 million versus the $619.3 million forecast.

sharp deceleration

Investors were preparing for a sharp slowdown in trading volume given the decline in crypto prices at the beginning of the year. Bitcoin It rose 12% in March but fell 22% in the first quarter.

Coinbase’s net income is often distorted by accounting rules that require it to value major crypto assets regardless of the price at the end of the quarter, causing reported earnings to fluctuate widely even if no assets are sold.

Coinbase, known largely for its cryptocurrency trading platform, is trying to diversify its revenue streams through subscription and services businesses that include stablecoins and staking revenue.

Stablecoin revenue increased to $305 million from $274 million last year, driven by growth in the market cap of the USDC stablecoin and an all-time high average in USDC held in Coinbase products.

The era of cryptocurrency’s easy moonshots and inflated returns-based returns is coming to an end, as exchanges increasingly move toward more diversified trading revenues from prediction markets and tokenized real-world assets, rather than relying on more speculative investments.

“As markets change, as different behaviors change, we’re trying to diversify what people can trade so that we always have something that people want to trade,” Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas told CNBC. “This diversification will only help reduce some of the volatility we see in crypto trading.”

Investors are looking for signs of whether Coinbase can still make money when crypto trading pulls back. Crucial to this effort is Coinbase’s success in leveraging non-transaction businesses to offset the cyclicality of transaction fees during slowdowns.

Beyond crypto

Although top and bottom results fell short of expectations, Coinbase has seen promising growth across its various offerings, including event contracts and support for trading crypto derivatives and tokenized real-world assets.

The New York-based firm recorded approximately $4.2 billion in derivatives trading volume in the first quarter; This was a 169% increase compared to the same period the previous year. Despite the decline in crypto prices this year, the exchange gained share in both spot and derivatives trading globally, reaching an all-time high market share in crypto trading volume at 8.6%.

Coinbase also estimates that its prediction market business will generate $100 million in annual revenue by the end of this year. The business segment launched in late January in partnership with Kalshi.

The moves away from crypto underscore Coinbase’s push to create an “exchange for everything”; This is an initiative put forward by CEO Brain Armstrong a year ago to make Bitcoin less reliant on trading tokens like Ether and XRP.

Investors will hear updates on the trading platform’s margins and labor discipline following this week’s announcement that Coinbase will lay off approximately 14% of its workforce, or 700 people, during Coinbase management’s call with analysts at 5:30 p.m. ET. Coinbase noted that the layoffs were part of a broad restructuring effort focused on artificial intelligence and cited the crypto downturn as a catalyst.

The layoffs underscored Wall Street’s expectations that weak trading conditions could continue into the second quarter.

Read Coinbase’s full shareholder slide deck Here.

This story is developing. Please check back for more updates.