Stocks
Robinhood Posts Rough Q3
October 26, 2021
Robinhood revealed a steep $1.3B loss on Tuesday. Thought it was highly attributable to share-based compensation, several areas of their growth went into reverse. Transaction-based revenues, for example, were only $267M in Q3, a sharp drop from the $451M in Q2.
That’s not all. Assets Under Custody, Average Revenue Per User, and Monthly Active Users all shrank as well.
“This quarter was about developing more products and services for our customers, including crypto wallets,” said Vlad Tenev, CEO and Co-Founder of Robinhood Markets, in the company’s official statement. “More than one million people have joined our crypto wallets waitlist to date. With 24/7 live phone support, we believe that Robinhood is becoming the most trusted and intuitive platform for retail and crypto investors. And looking ahead, we’re committed to delivering tax-advantaged retirement accounts to help everyone invest for the long term.”
SEC Mentions Ban of PFOF, Robinhood Suffers
August 31, 2021SEC Chairman Gary Gensler told Barron’s on Monday that a ban of payment for order flow (PFOF) may soon be implemented by regulators and the controversial business model for companies like Robinhood may be coming to an end.
Gensler has gone on record as an opponent of PFOF, where wholesale market makers send client orders to brokers in exchange for a fee. Gensler and many other regulators have claimed that the PFOF business model is a major conflict-of-interest.
In response to the release, Robinhood’s stock fell to $43.64 per share shortly after Gensler’s thoughts were publicized. A nearly 7% skid in price may be the tip of the iceberg for the company if the SEC does indeed have plans to end PFOF. Robinhood’s business model of zero-commission trading may have to be reconstructed should something like this occur.
The PFOF model was heavily criticized in February during the federal hearing regarding Robinhood’s trading limits to counteract the GameStop short squeeze. Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev was criticized at the hearings by the House Financial Services Committee in regard to how the PFOF business model supported biased relationships with companies like Citadel and Melvin Capital during the controversy.
Despite the overall success of Robinhood’s shares since going public earlier this month, the group has had some recent roadblocks besides the latest regulatory sentiments. PayPal is considering a stock trading platform in the United States, sources say.
With federal regulators and new competition breathing down the company’s neck, Robinhood may be due for drastic changes sooner than later.
Robinhood Posts Q2 Net Loss of $502M, Shareholders/Fans Pick Management’s Brain on the Call
August 19, 2021Robinhood posted a massive net loss last quarter to the tune of $502M on only $565M in revenue.
Following the announcement, the company’s earnings call was a bit unusual, sounding more like a live AMA Reddit thread as the platform’s shareholders were given an opportunity to talk to senior management, a platform usually reserved only for Wall Street analysts. This format led to the submission of 1,300 questions, way more than could be answered in the time allotted, so only the most upvoted were selected to be answered on the call itself.
One person asked if they could get a Robinhood hat and hoody jacket, a surreal insight into how shareholders are thinking about a company that lost $2 for every dollar it brought in last quarter. Another shareholder asked if Robinhood was getting a crypto wallet.
“…I know that there’s been a ton of enthusiasm from the crypto community and the Dogecoin community in particular, on getting access to wallets and it’s something that our teams are working on,” said Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev.
When the shareholders’ turn was over, the analysts took control, asking more pointed questions, like what happens when Robinhood runs out of potential customers that have so far comprised the demographic that led to the company’s early success.
Tenev said that “I think more and more, you’re going to see Robinhood, particularly with our mobile first platform and ease of use, be become incredibly attractive to folks that haven’t previously considered Robinhood, is the go to place. So we’re pretty optimistic about the opportunity ahead of us. And that’s limiting the response to investing. I think there’s a lot more that we can do, when we talk about being the single money app for our customers.”
The company’s stock went down slightly after earnings.
Fintech IPOs Are Back
November 18, 2020Fintech IPOs are back. Affirm, a fintech company whose platform offers “a point-of-sale payment solution for consumers, merchant commerce solutions, and a consumer-focused app,” is the latest company to file for an IPO.
Affirm’s S-1 was filed earlier today, revealing that they intend to raise $100 million. The company generated $509M in net revenue during its fiscal year ending June 30 and a net loss of $112 million.
| Fintech | Date Filed | Date Public | Amount Raised |
| Affirm | 11/18/20 | ||
| Upstart | 11/6/20 | ||
| Lufax | 10/8/20 | 10/30/20 | $2.36B |
| Ant Group | 8/25/20 | Delayed |
Unrelated to fintech, but still “tech” are pending IPOs for DoorDash and Airbnb.
Additional Lawsuits Filed Against OnDeck Directors Over Enova Deal
September 14, 2020At least three federal lawsuits have been filed against the directors of OnDeck relating to the announcement that the company is being acquired by Enova. These suits allege securities act violations with regards to how the technical aspects of the deal were disclosed while the initially reported action in the Delaware Court of Chancery alleged a breach of fiduciary duty.
The federal securities lawsuits are:
Daniel Senteno v. On Deck Capital, Inc. et al – Case 1:20-cv-01179-MN
Eric Sabatini (on behalf of a class) v On Deck Capital, Inc et al – Case 1:20-cv-01166-MN
Mohamed Aboubih v On Deck Capital, Inc. et al – Case 1:20-cv-07319-Vm
OnDeck Shares Lose More Than 30% Of Their Value in a Week
March 11, 2020Shares of OnDeck have suffered in the last week as the market has seen a dramatic pullback. Shares have traded as low as $2.17 on Wednesday, down 12% from the previous day. The company’s market capitalization is at $128.2M million, down from its 2014 IPO value of $1.32 billion.
OnDeck, Lending Club Shares Battered By Market Turbulence
March 9, 2020The collateral damage of market panic led to all-time low share prices for online lending companies OnDeck and LendingClub on Monday. By noon, OnDeck was down 7.5% on the day at $2.55 (the low was $2.47) and LendingClub was down 5% at $9.62 (the low was $9.26).
Online lender Elevate also hit a new all-time low of $2.50.
Lending Club Stock Price Hits Record Low
February 27, 2018Lending Club’s stock dropped to its lowest level on Monday, closing at $3.27, according to the online lending tracker. That puts the company down 78% from its IPO price of $15 and down 87% from its all-time high.
Since going public, the company has been mired in litigation, losses, and scandal. The company has also put funding from peers aside in favor of funding from Wall Street banks.
Worse yet though for the company is that competitors like Goldman Sachs have been able to undercut Lending Club’s rates (Goldman Sachs’ Marcus charges no late fees or origination fees), while simultaneously tapping into a cheaper cost of capital (deposits).
