Coinbase Posts Surprise Profit as Insiders Plan $2 Billion Share Sales: Why Now?

Coinbase (COIN) earned $718.7 million in the third quarter when Wall Street expected a loss. The same filing revealed that its CEO, a co-founder, and its president plan to sell up to 13.6 million shares over the next 14 months.

Those plans cover about 6% of Coinbase’s 223.7 million Class A shares, worth roughly $2.2 billion at Thursday’s $160.59 close. For COIN shareholders, that is fresh stock supply arriving while the core business shrinks.

Why the Profit Came from Crypto Coinbase Holds, Not from Trading

Revenue fell 35% to $1.22 billion, according to the quarterly filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Transaction revenue dropped 44% to $590 million as consumer spot trading volume fell 59%.

Operating income, the profit from actually running the exchange, was $61.7 million, down from $480.5 million. Nearly all of the net income came from a $715 million gain on crypto Coinbase holds as an investment, a paper gain that moves with token prices.

Analysts had penciled in a loss of $0.15 per share, and BeInCrypto flagged the expected Coinbase loss days earlier. Diluted earnings instead reached $2.51 per share.

COINBASE $COIN Q3’26 EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS

🔹 Revenue: $1.22B (Est. $1.23B) 🔴; -35% YoY
🔹 EPS: $2.51 (Est. -$0.06) 🟢
🔹 Transaction Rev: $590M (Est. $527M) 🟢; -44% YoY
🔹 S&S Revenue: $570M (Est. $561.5M) 🟢; -20% YoY
🔹 Adj. EBITDA: $332.9M (Est. $290.2M) 🟢; -58% YoY
🔹 Net… pic.twitter.com/2dVK8CAutc

— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) October 29, 2026

Fees from prediction markets, where users trade contracts on event outcomes, partly offset the spot decline, the filing said.

CEO Brian Armstrong put that business above $200 million in annualized revenue.

“We just released our Q3 earnings, and we set product records across the board despite the tough market. And I’m seeing signs that the market is turning,” he said.

Why the Founders’ Sale Plans are Twice Last Year’s Size

Armstrong adopted a plan on August 12 to sell up to 8.17 million shares between November 16 and October 2027. Co-founder Fred Ehrsam’s plan covers 3.87 million shares, and President Emilie Choi’s covers 1.56 million through 2027.

These are Rule 10b5-1 plans, selling schedules executives lock in while holding no inside information. Coinbase requires insiders to trade only this way, and each plan sells only above undisclosed price thresholds.

The scale is what changed. Armstrong’s plan a year ago covered 3.75 million shares, less than half the new figure, per the Q3 2025 filing.

Coinbase still has $1.96 billion of buyback authorization to absorb some of that supply.

COIN sits 56% below its 52-week high of $361.40 and barely moved after hours.

Form 4 filings from November 16 will show whether insiders are cashing out while Armstrong pitches a crypto-plus-AI “everything exchange.”

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