Circle (NYSE: CRCL) reported Q4 2025 results that beat estimates across the board.

It's one thing to build a $75B stablecoin network. But it's another to keep the economics.

Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) is the issuer of USDC, the world's second-largest stablecoin at $75.3B. The company generated $2.75B in revenue in FY 2025, up 64% year-over-year, with Q4 net income of $133M and its stock surging 30% post-earnings. [RELEASE]

But here's the number nobody's talking about: Circle paid $1.6B, 60% of its reserve income to distribution partners. Mostly Coinbase.

👉PRO: Download the PDF

What happened

On February 25, Circle reported strong Q4 2025 numbers: USDC circulation rose 72% YoY to $75.3B, quarterly on-chain volume surged 247% to $11.9T, and full-year revenue grew 64% to $2.7B. Circle generated $582M in adjusted EBITDA but reported a $70M net loss after booking $424M in IPO-relaed stock-based compensation.

Circle paid $1.6B to distribution partners in FY 2025 — more than its entire $1.18B operating expense base. The vast majority went to Coinbase. Under their August 2023 agreement, Coinbase keeps 100% of reserve income on USDC held on its platform and splits 50/50 on everything else. Simply put, Circle keeps ~40 cents of every dollar it generates.