Robinhood’s Core Business More Than Tripled in First Quarter
- ‘Payment for order flow’ revenue reached $331 million in 1Q
- The business is commonplace but has been controversial
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Robinhood Market Inc.’s largest source of revenue more than tripled in the first quarter as the trading app became immensely popular with young investors amid the meme-stock frenzy.
Revenue from “payment for order flow,” a system where market makers like Citadel Securities pay retail brokers including Robinhood for routing orders to them, reached about $331 million in the first quarter, up from $91 million a year ago, according to an analysis of a securities filing.