Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN) Q2 2025 Earnings Summary

Executive Summary

Q2 2025 was mixed: net revenue fell to $1.420B as spot volumes/volatility declined, while GAAP EPS surged to $5.14 due to a $1.5B unrealized strategic investment gain (incl. Circle) and a $362M crypto investment remeasurement; Adjusted EBITDA was $512M and Adjusted Net Income was $33M .
Subscription & services revenue was resilient at $656M (stablecoin revenue up 12% Q/Q to $332M), but transaction revenue dropped 39% Q/Q to $764M amid lower volatility and an intentional stablecoin pairs pricing change; total trading volume fell 40% Q/Q to $237B .
Q3 2025 outlook calls for subscription & services revenue of $665–$745M and July transaction revenue of ~$360M; OpEx rises with headcount growth tied to regulatory clarity and new initiatives (Tech+G&A $800–$850M; S&M $190–$290M) .
Stock-relevant catalysts: passage of the GENIUS Act and CLARITY Act (stablecoin/market structure), European MiCA license in Luxembourg, and launch/expansion of U.S. perpetual futures, Base App beta, Shopify USDC payments, and PNC partnership to expand Crypto-as-a-Service distribution .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

Stablecoin flywheel: USDC revenues rose 12% Q/Q to $332M, with average USDC balances in Coinbase products up 13% Q/Q to $13.8B; off-platform USDC averaged $47.4B, underscoring network effects and distribution breadth .
Institutional platform strength: Assets Under Custody reached a record $245.7B, with Coinbase custodian for 80%+ of U.S. BTC/ETH ETF assets; Prime Financing hit all-time high average loan balances, diversifying the loan book across corporates, miners, and market makers .
Product innovation and policy tailwinds: U.S. perpetual futures launched, Base App entered open beta (700k waitlist), Shopify USDC payments went live on Base, and GENIUS/CLARITY advanced regulatory clarity; CEO: “We now have $9.3B in USD resources… and a comprehensive derivatives product suite” .

What Went Wrong

Market-driven softness: Global/U.S. spot volumes down 31%/32% Q/Q and Crypto Asset Volatility down 16% Q/Q; transaction revenue fell 39% Q/Q to $764M, and total trading volume dropped 40% Q/Q to $237B .
Pricing strategy impact: Intentional March pricing change for stablecoin pairs reduced Advanced platform volumes; management emphasized it prioritized revenue over volume and was the primary driver of underperformance vs. spot markets .
Security/OpEx headwind: ~$307–$308M “Other operating expenses” from the May data theft incident inflated OpEx to $1.522B (+15% Q/Q); effective tax rate 22% further impacted GAAP metrics .

Financial Results

Headline Results vs Prior Periods

Metric	Q2 2024	Q3 2024	Q4 2024	Q1 2025	Q2 2025
Net Revenue ($USD Millions)	$1,379.9	$1,128.6	$2,197.0	$1,960.3	$1,420.1
Total Revenue ($USD Millions)	$1,449.6	$1,205.2	$2,271.6	$2,034.3	$1,497.2
Net Income ($USD Millions)	$36.2	$75.5	$1,291.2	$65.6	$1,428.9
Diluted EPS ($)	$0.14	$0.28	$4.68	$0.24	$5.14
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)	$595.6	$448.6	$1,289.0	$929.9	$512.1

Q2 2025 Results vs Wall Street Consensus

Metric	Actual	Consensus	Surprise
Revenue ($USD Millions)	$1,420.1	$1,593.8*	Miss
EPS (Diluted, $)	$5.14	$1.49*	Beat
EBITDA ($USD Millions)	$238.8*	$588.7*	Miss

Values with asterisk retrieved from S&P Global.

Important context: GAAP EPS benefited from non-operating gains ($1.5B strategic investments, $362M crypto investments); Adjusted Net Income was $33M and Adjusted EBITDA was $512M, excluding these items and the data theft losses .

Segment Breakdown

Segment	Q1 2025 ($USD Millions)	Q2 2025 ($USD Millions)
Consumer Transaction Revenue	$1,095.5	$649.9
Institutional Transaction Revenue	$98.9	$60.8
Other Transaction Revenue	$67.8	$53.5
Total Transaction Revenue	$1,262.2	$764.3
Stablecoin Revenue	$297.5	$332.5
Blockchain Rewards	$196.6	$144.5
Interest & Finance Fee Income	$63.1	$59.3
Other Subscription & Services	$140.9	$119.5
Total Subscription & Services	$698.1	$655.8

KPIs and Operating Metrics

KPI	Q1 2025	Q2 2025
Trading Volume – Consumer ($USD Billions)	78	43
Trading Volume – Institutional ($USD Billions)	315	194
Total Trading Volume ($USD Billions)	393	237
% of Total Trading Volume – Bitcoin	27%	30%
% of Total Trading Volume – Ethereum	11%	15%
% of Total Transaction Revenue – Bitcoin	26%	34%
USDC Avg Balances in Coinbase Products ($USD Billions)	12.2 (implied by Q1 table)	13.8
Off-Platform USDC Avg Balances ($USD Billions)	42.0 (implied by Q1)	47.4
AUC ($USD Billions)	—	245.7
Transaction Expense (% of Net Revenue)	15%	17%
Full-time Employees (end of quarter)	3,959	4,279
$USD Resources ($USD Billions)	9.9 (end Q1 implied)	9.3
Fully Diluted Share Count (Millions)	—	289

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance (May Q2 Outlook)	Current Guidance/Actual	Change
Subscription & Services Revenue	Q2 2025	$600–$680M	$656M (actual)	In range
Transaction Expenses (% of Net Rev.)	Q2 2025	Mid-teens, mix-dependent	17% (actual)	Slightly above mid-teens
Tech & Dev + G&A (incl. SBC)	Q2 2025	$700–$750M (incl. ~$180M SBC)	$741M (incl. $182M SBC)	In range
Sales & Marketing (incl. SBC)	Q2 2025	$215–$315M (incl. ~$15M SBC)	$236M (incl. $15M SBC)	In range
Subscription & Services Revenue	Q3 2025	—	$665–$745M	Raised vs Q2 actual midpoint
July Transaction Revenue	Q3 2025	—	~$360M	Informational
Tech & Dev + G&A (incl. SBC)	Q3 2025	—	$800–$850M (incl. ~$210M SBC)	Higher sequentially
Sales & Marketing (incl. SBC)	Q3 2025	—	$190–$290M (incl. ~$15M SBC)	Lower midpoint vs Q2

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q4 2024 and Q1 2025)	Current Period (Q2 2025)	Trend
Derivatives expansion	“All-time high U.S. spot and global derivatives share” (Q4); $800B derivatives volume in Q1 and Deribit acquisition announced	Launched U.S. perpetual-style futures; 24/7 BTC/ETH contracts; all-time highs in international derivatives volume/open interest	Accelerating
Stablecoin payments	Emphasis on USDC network effects and payments; USDC revenue +32% Q/Q in Q1	Shopify USDC payments live on Base; Coinbase Business pilot; USDC revenue +12% Q/Q	Scaling utility
Base Chain/platform	Focus on lowering fees and scaling back-end (Q4); acquisitions to enhance Base utility (Iron Fish, Spindle) in Q1	Millicent fees (~$0.0005), 200ms blocks; Base App beta with social/trading/payments; JP Morgan deposit token pilot on Base	Strong momentum
Regulatory clarity	U.S. election/regulatory sea change (Q4); dismissal of SEC case, push for stablecoin/market structure (Q1)	GENIUS Act signed; CLARITY Act passed House; MiCA license in Luxembourg	Improving
Tokenized equities/Everything Exchange	Strategic aspiration to bring TradFi assets on-chain (Q4/Q1)	CEO reaffirms move to tokenized equities with broker integration; routing across CEX/DEX with consumer protection	Advancing plan
Security/customer support	Not central in Q4/Q1	~$307–$308M expense tied to data theft; onshore support in Charlotte; $25M bounty; platform hardening	Remediation in progress

Management Commentary

Brian Armstrong (CEO): “Total revenue came in at $1.5 billion with positive adjusted EBITDA of $512 million, and we now have $9.3 billion in total USD resources… Our goal is to build what we're calling the Everything Exchange. Every asset you want to trade is a one-stop shop, all on crypto rails.” .
Alesia Haas (CFO): “We did make [Q2 derivatives incentives] investment; however, this ended up being recorded as a transaction expense… Our total operating expenses were $1.5 billion. Without the… May data theft incident… $307 million expense… OpEx would have declined 9%.” .
Policy clarity: “The GENIUS Act… first-ever U.S. federal legislation for digital assets… CLARITY Act passed the House… Together… unlock new market opportunities for Coinbase.” .
Platform utility: “USDC payments on Base Chain are now live in Shopify Payments… Coinbase Business… over 3,700 businesses on the waitlist.” .

Q&A Highlights

Tokenized equities timeline and scope: Coinbase is working toward tokenized equities with broker integration; aims to be the trusted, compliant liquidity/brokerage layer, routing orders across CEX/DEX; “We’ll keep you updated over the coming quarters” .
Payments monetization: Monetize via lower transaction fees vs legacy rails, Base sequencer fees, and stablecoin economics; partnership-driven distribution (e.g., Shopify) .
Derivatives traction: Early U.S. perpetual-style futures saw volumes doubling week-over-week; focus near-term on liquidity/open interest rather than margin; international open interest at $1B and $1T Q2 derivatives volume .
Customer support/security: Expanding onshore support in Charlotte, automation/AI, and hardening systems post data theft incident; $25M bounty for threat actor arrest .
Stablecoin rewards: Rewards drive engagement and balances; program structured as loyalty/engagement rather than interest, consistent with GENIUS Act constraints .

Estimates Context

Q2 2025 results vs S&P Global consensus: Revenue missed ($1,420.1M vs $1,593.8M*), EBITDA missed ($238.8M* vs $588.7M*), while EPS beat ($5.14 vs $1.49*) due to significant non-operating gains; Adjusted Net Income was only $33.2M, highlighting the gap between GAAP EPS and core operating performance .
Forward look: Q3 2025 consensus (context) shows EPS $1.10*, revenue $1,808.3M*, EBITDA $721.1M*; company guides subscription & services $665–$745M and highlights higher asset prices/USDC capitalization; estimates may drift up for S&S, but need to reflect OpEx growth in Tech+G&A and conservative transaction dynamics .
Values with asterisk retrieved from S&P Global.

Key Takeaways for Investors

Core performance softened with lower volatility and strategic pricing changes on stablecoin pairs; watch for volume recovery and derivatives-driven liquidity gains into Q3 .
GAAP EPS strength was non-operational; adjust for $1.5B strategic and $362M crypto gains and $307–$308M data theft losses to assess underlying profitability (Adjusted Net Income $33M; Adjusted EBITDA $512M) .
Stablecoin and custody flywheels are durable: USDC revenue growth, record AUC, and broad institutional adoption (ETF mandates) provide resilience amid spot volume cycles .
Regulatory catalysts (GENIUS/CLARITY, MiCA license) and product launches (U.S. perps, Base App, Shopify USDC) expand TAM and support medium-term multiple; monitor execution on tokenized equities roadmap .
Expense trajectory up in Q3 as Coinbase leans into headcount/infrastructure; margin path depends on derivatives scaling, S&S growth, and marketing ROI discipline .
Security incident largely provisioned in Q2; remediation steps in-flight—track customer trust/retention metrics and any incremental legal costs .
Strategic distribution (PNC partnership) enhances Crypto-as-a-Service reach; expect incremental AUC, Prime, and S&S contributions over time rather than new P&L lines .