Circle Cuts 5% of Staff as Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest Buys More CRCL Stock

• Circle stock drew fresh buying from Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, which purchased 48,492 shares across two sessions before earnings
• Circle cut roughly 5% of its workforce while quarterly net income rose 5% to $226 million
• A $182 million ARC presale helped lift revenue 17% to $865 million, while reserve income declined 8%

Before Circle published its latest earnings, Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest was buying. The firm added Circle stock on Tuesday after another purchase on Monday, putting more money into the USDC issuer ahead of a disclosure that it had cut about 5% of its workforce. Profit rose during the quarter, too. CRCL rose 4.36% to $75.22 in the previous trading session, but some of those gains faded ahead of the opening bell, with shares down 1.87% in pre-market trading.

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ARK Invest Adds Circle Stock Ahead of Earnings

ARK bought 12,835 Circle shares on November 3, worth approximately $965,000, according to reports. That followed Monday’s purchase of 35,657 shares valued at about $2.6 million.

Together, those purchases covered 48,492 shares across two sessions, worth more than $3.5 million based on the reported valuations. On Tuesday, ARK also sold 37,754 shares of crypto exchange Bullish, valued at roughly $867,000.

Both purchases preceded the Circle earnings release on November 4, which disclosed the workforce reduction.

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Circle Layoff Comes in a Profitable Quarter

Circle reported $226 million in net income from continuing operations, up 5% from a year earlier. Revenue and reserve income climbed 17% to $865 million, according to its quarterly release. GAAP diluted earnings were 84 cents a share, up from 64 cents a year earlier.

The workforce reduction generated $9.1 million in restructuring charges, mainly cash costs for severance, notice periods, and benefits. It did not identify which teams were affected. Circle said the changes were intended to “better align our organizational structure with our operating model and strategic priorities.”

This leaves the revenue increase to unpack. An ARC token presale contributed $182 million, about 21% of the quarter’s total. Circle’s earnings presentation shows revenue excluding that contribution at $683 million, below the $740 million reported a year earlier.

Its main income source moved in the opposite direction. Reserve income fell 8% to $658 million as lower yields outweighed growth in average USDC circulation, which rose 8% to $73.3 billion.

The staff cuts have not brought a lower annual spending forecast. Operating expenses rose 16% to $245 million in the quarter, and Circle retained full-year adjusted operating expense guidance of $570 million to $585 million. For investors following ARK’s purchases, that is still an expense line to watch after the token-sale lift.

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