Coinbase reports third-quarter revenue that misses analysts’ estimates

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., reported third-quarter earnings after the bell on Tuesday and missed analysts’ estimates on revenue. The stock sank in extended trading.

Here’s how Coinbase did compared with analyst estimates:

• Earnings: $1.62 a share
• Revenue: $1.31 billion vs. $1.57 billion consensus estimate, according to Refinitiv

Coinbase said monthly active transaction users fell from the prior period, dropping to 7.4 million from 8.8 million in the second quarter. It’s up from 6.1 million a year earlier. Trading volume fell to $327 billion from $462 billion in the previous quarter.

Much of the company’s success hinges on the performance of digital assets like bitcoin. On Monday, bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $68,000, and ethereum set a new record, topping $4,800.

Coinbase held its stock market debut in April at $381 a share and was briefly valued at high as $100 billion, on a fully diluted basis. The stock sank below $221 in July but has rallied dramatically in the past month, closing on Tuesday at $357.39.

“As our year-to-date results have clearly demonstrated, our business is volatile,” the company said in its shareholder letter. “Coinbase is not a quarter-to-quarter investment, but rather a long-term investment in the growth of the cryptoeconomy and our ability to serve users through our products and services. We encourage our investors to take this point of view.”

In September, the company scrapped plans to launch a crypto lending product after it revealed that the SEC planned to sue over the product. Also during the quarter, Coinbase announced plans to launch a marketplace to trade nonfungible tokens and allowed customers to deposit paychecks into their accounts.

Facebook, now known as Meta Platforms, recently said it hired Coinbase to deal with logistics for its new digital wallet for cryptocurrencies.

Correction: A prior version of this story used the wrong revenue number.