ROBINHOOD'S QUARTERLY REVENUE DROPS BY ALMOST HALF

Robinhood’s transaction-based revenue in the second quarter of 2022 fell to $202 million from $451 million in the second quarter last year, a drop of more than half. The picture of the overall revenue isn’t much better: down 44 percent to $318 million from $565 million a year ago. Yes, about a quarter of the company is getting fired.

Hilariously, in the text of their earnings press release, they give sequential figures, noting that this quarter was better than last quarter. True, but not the point!

Robinhood was the figurehead of the meme stock trading revolution, which reached public consciousness through the GameStop debacle. But as interest rates have risen and pandemic restrictions have eased, retail traders seem to have lost interest in the market. (Or money — possibly both.)

Monthly active users decreased to 14 million in the second quarter, which the press release noted was a 10 percent decline from the first quarter. It is also a 33 percent decline from the second quarter of 2021, when the company reported 21.3 million monthly active users.

Assets under custody declined by a third from the first quarter, the press release noted, to $64.2 billion. In the second quarter of 2021, the company had $102 billion in assets under custody. I find it curious that the 2021 earnings are using year over year, and these earnings now are using sequential quarters and making me go look up the old numbers. The numbers are bad, and the vibes are off.

Also, the chief product officer is leaving. Aparna Chennapragada, who left Google for Robinhood, will serve as an advisor until January 2023. She was hired as the first chief product officer at Robinhood last year.

The quarterly earnings call is scheduled for tomorrow.

By Elizabeth Lopatto

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