Coinbase Q1 results beat estimates amid cost cuts, jump in subscription growth

Investing.com - Coinbase reported Thursday first-quarter results that were better than feared, driven by cost cuts and a jump in subscription revenue. 

Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) shares climbed 7% in afterhours trading following the report.

Coinbase reported a loss of $0.34 on revenue of $772.5 million, topping expectations for a loss of $1.39 on revenue of $655.0M.

The beat on the bottom line comes as a jump in subscription revenue offset falling transaction revenue as trading volumes slumped. 

Subscription revenue more than doubled to $362M in Q1 from $151.9M in the same period a year earlier.

Total transaction revenue fell to $374.7M from $1.01B last year, driven by a slump in consumer transaction revenue as trading volume dried up. 

Consumer transaction revenue fell to $352.4M from $965.8M, with volume sliding to $21B from $74B a year earlier. 

As well as higher revenue, cost cuts also helped drive the beat on the bottom line.

This quarter represented a "turning point in our drive towards building a company that is more efficient," Coinbase said, with operating expenses falling to $896.4M from $1.72B a year earlier.

Looking ahead, the company said it expected subscription and services revenue to fall in the second quarter, driven by "lower USDC market capitalization."

For 2023, the company the continues to seek to improve full-year 2023 Adjusted EBITDA in absolute dollar terms versus full-year 2022.