Coinbase’s first quarter financials were not as good as expected as digital asset prices fell and trading volume moderated its main business segments. The COIN stock plunged nearly 4% in the after hours trading on Thursday, May 7.
Coinbase Announces Q1 Earnings Report
The crypto exchange reported a loss of $1.49 a share in the quarter ended March 31. It was below analysts’ estimates of a profit of 27 cents a share, according to estimates compiled by LSEG.
Revenue was also below expectations quarterly. Coinbase reported $1.41 billion in revenue for the quarter. The figure was lower than Wall Street’s expectations of $1.52 billion. The crypto market’s activity was sluggish and had a negative impact on the company’s transaction-related income, one of its biggest sources.
Transaction revenue in the quarter came in at $755.8 million, compared with $805.2 million expected by analysts. Subscription and services revenue came in at $583.5 million, $35.8 million fewer than expected. It fell $35.8 million short of its estimate of $619.3 million.
These profits are generated by stablecoin products, staking services, and other steady revenue streams. Coinbase has been working on diverse ways to generate income to drift away from trading fees.
It was a challenging first quarter for the crypto industry. Bitcoin price rose 12% in March but it has dropped by 22% for the whole quarter. As a result of the crypto market downturn, investors were less active in spot trading markets. It resulted in a direct impact on the trading volumes of Coinbase.
The community has been eagerly watching to see if the company can remain profitable in times of lower trading volume. Investors are also keeping an eye on the growth of the company’s subscription and services business to the point where it can match up cyclical transaction revenue volatility.
Company Layoffs & COIN Stock Update
The attention has now turned to cost management and operating margins after Coinbase recently announced layoffs. It recently slashed its workforce by nearly 14% which means that around 700 employees are heading for the chopping block.
The company explained that the dismissals were part of its restructuring efforts related to the use of artificial intelligence. The layoff announcement was a strong indicator that perhaps the trading activity may not pick up in the second quarter.
After the announcement of the numbers, Coinbase stock plunged after hours trading by almost 4%. In the pre-market trading session, the COIN stock was down 3.34% to $186.51 in after hours.
