Bullish Crushes Earnings. The Crypto Stock Pops.

A Bullish banner at the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 13, the day the crypto exchange went public. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Key Points

About This Summary

• Bullish shares rose after the company reported a second-quarter profit of $108.3 million, or 93 cents a share.
• Bullish received a Bitlicense from New York’s DFS, allowing virtual currency trading in the U.S. in the fourth quarter.
• Citi boosted its price target to $70, noting the Bitlicense alleviates concerns as investors gain confidence.

Bullish, the crypto exchange that went public only a month ago, was living up to its name Thursday after reporting stellar earnings.

Shares of the CoinDesk owner ended the day up 21% to just under $66 thanks to a second-quarter profit of $108.3 million, or 93 cents a share, compared to a loss a year ago. Digital asset sales and trading volume rose as well.

Bullish also disclosed in its results, released after Wednesday’s close, that it has received a Bitlicense from New York’s Department of Financial Services (DFS).

The business license allows the Cayman Islands-based Bullish to launch virtual currency trading in the U.S. in the fourth quarter, the company said.

“We’re excited that the work we did in the second quarter is already directly contributing to strong business momentum in the third quarter and beyond,” said CEO Tom Farley in the earnings release. “Our recent receipt of the prestigious New York DFS Bitlicense is testament to our institutional rigor and truly global reach.”

Bullish stock, which started trading on Wall Street in August, has been incredibly volatile since its debut, just like many other IPOs over the past few months.

Bullish priced its IPO at $37. The stock soared as high as $118 on its debut day and closed at $68, a gain of 84%. But the stock dipped below $48 earlier this month before rebounding.

Still, Bullish’s post-earnings pop differs from what happened to a handful of other buzzy IPOs. Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group and design software firm Figma both met tepid reactions after their first earnings reports; they had triple-digit percentage gains on their debuts.

Bullish’s solid earnings could convince analysts who are been lukewarm about the company’s valuation that shares could head higher. The stock is trading at nearly 90 times earnings estimates for 2026, almost double the forward P/E of 47 for Coinbase and higher than the multiple of nearly 65 for Robinhood.

Four of the 11 analysts who cover Bullish recommend it as a Buy. The other seven rate it as a Hold.

The consensus target price is $59—below its current price. At least five analysts raised their price targets after the earnings report, according to FactSet.

Citi boosted its price target to $70, noting that the Bitlicense “alleviates some hangover, particularly as investors build confidence towards FY’26 growth expectations.”

The Citi analysts added that optimistic expectations for subscription and services revenue growth “was likely the biggest surprise” and that Bullish is seeing “accelerating momentum.”

The question now is whether the rest of the Wall Street will wind up being as bullish on Bullish as Citi. The stock’s post-earnings rally suggests that more price target boosts could be coming.

Write to Paul R. La Monica at paul.lamonica@barrons.com