Robinhood Has Lost Millions of Merry Memestock Men
The company is struggling to retain people’s attention. Democratizing finance ain’t what it used to be.
Looks like hype.
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images North America“Engagement” is a strange metric to see in a broker-dealer’s results. But Robinhood Markets Inc. is more than an investment firm. It stands at the intersection of finance and social media — a symbol of the “memestock” boom that galvanized a generation of bored locked-down day traders. But judging by the company’s latest figures, the mania is over.
In the first quarter, Robinhood’s monthly active users fell 10% year-on-year to 15.9 million, the lowest since the end of 2020. It’s a loose metric, to be sure, covering debit-card swipes and webpage log-ins. Net funded accounts have held steady, but activity is flatlining: Transaction revenues fell by almost half, and average quarterly revenue per user slumped 61% to $53. In a post-lockdown era of rising inflation, consumers have less money and fewer hours to spare. Eyeballs and finger-swipes are not guaranteed.