Earnings Report: Coinbase Loses $545 Million in Third Quarter – Stock Plummets

Amid a crypto market downturn, major exchange Coinbase has reported disappointing results for the third quarter of this year. Between July and September 2022, the business reported a net loss of some $545 million. The latest announcement has caused the exchange’s stock price to plummet. 

“Q3 was a mixed quarter for Coinbase. Transaction revenue was significantly impacted by stronger macroeconomic and crypto market headwinds, as well as trading volume moving offshore,” Coinbase said in its shareholder letter for the third quarter of 2022. 

“Meanwhile, we saw strong growth in our subscription and services revenue, driven by our participation in the USDC ecosystem and higher staking activity. While the macro headwinds are beyond our control, we continue to focus on factors within our control: narrowing our product focus to deliver amazing customer experiences and reducing our operating expenses,” the letter said.

The exchange saw its transaction revenue dropped by 44% quarter-on-quarter to $366 million as a result of the decreased trading volume. 

At the same time, on a more optimistic note, the platform’s “subscription and services revenue increased 43% sequentially to $211 million, driven by higher interest income. Q3 net revenue was $576 million, down 28% compared to Q2.”

Coinbase’s total operating expenses stood at $1.1 billion, a decrease of 38% compared with the second quarter of 2022, according to the shareholder letter. 

“Absent non-cash impairment charges incurred, total operating expenses would have declined 22% sequentially in Q3. While revenues declined sequentially, net loss and Adjusted EBITDA both improved sequentially to negative $545 million and negative $116 million, respectively,” the company told its shareholders. 

The exchange’s disappointing results has triggered a decrease in its stock price, suggesting that many investors are not convinced the company can easily rebound from its current financial situation. As of 9 a.m. UTC, Coinbase’s stock listed on NASDAQ was priced at $55.80 which represented an 8.09% decrease over a 24-hour period. 

Commenting on its plans for 2022 and beyond, the exchange said it remains “cautiously optimistic that we will operate within the $500 million Adjusted EBITDA loss guardrail that we previously communicated. This assumes that crypto market capitalization and volatility do not deteriorate meaningfully below October levels and that we do not see changes in customer behaviors.”

Regarding 2023, the platform says it is readying with a conservative bias, assuming “that the current macroeconomic headwinds will persist and possibly intensify.”