Circle Stock Price Hits $90, Analysts Bullish on Stablecoin Business Diversified Growth

Odaily reported that the stock price of stablecoin issuer Circle once rose above $90, reaching its highest level since last November, before retreating to around $87. The company's previously released fourth-quarter results exceeded market expectations, driving the stock price to accumulate a gain of approximately 30% since the earnings report.

Bernstein analysts maintained their "Outperform" rating on Circle with a target price of $190, stating that the company's performance indicates a growth trend that has shown "clear differentiation from the crypto market." The report pointed out that Circle's expansion in the infrastructure sector is bringing new revenue streams with higher profit margins, rather than relying solely on stablecoin reserve income.

Analysts noted that Circle's transaction-related revenue continues to grow, including blockchain rewards earned as a super-validator on the Canton network. Meanwhile, the proportion of USDC directly hosted on the Circle platform has increased to 17% of the total supply, up from 14% in the previous quarter. The company expects the circulation of USDC to maintain an annual growth rate of approximately 40% in the future and anticipates that other business revenues, excluding reserve income, will reach about $170 million in 2026, higher than the approximately $110 million in 2025.

Bernstein is also optimistic about Circle's expansion into new product areas, including the Arc platform, the Circle Payments Network, and "automated payment" capabilities for AI agents.

At the same time, Mizuho analysts pointed out that as stablecoins find increasing use in new scenarios such as prediction markets, for example on the Polymarket platform, Circle's revenue structure is expected to become further diversified. Overall, market focus is gradually shifting towards whether Circle can establish a more balanced revenue source structure during the expansion of the stablecoin ecosystem.