Robinhood, an online stock brokerage that lets users buy and sell 18 cryptocurrencies, saw an approximately 30% year-over-year decrease in revenue from crypto transactions in the first quarter of 2023. Compared with $54 million a year ago, the publicly traded company only saw $38 million in the most recent quarter. But measured sequentially, revenue from crypto-related transactions fell just 1% from the fourth quarter.
The company also announced that it has yet to buy back 55 million shares of the company—a 7.6% stake—that Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of crypto exchange FTX, and fellow FTX executive Gary Wang purchased in May 2022. Robinhood’s board already has approved the buyback of the shares, now worth approximately $500 million.
“Discussions are ongoing with the related parties, and we will continue to provide updates as appropriate,” Robinhood said in a statement accompanying its first-quarter earnings report.
Total revenue, including money from crypto transactions, was $441 million, an almost 50% year-over-year increase, and earnings per share were –57 cents on a reported net loss of $511 million. Both the company’s reported revenue and earnings per share beat analysts’ expectations, according to data from FactSet.
In after-hours trading, shares rose more than 6% to $9.65.
“We’re continuing to ship aggressively, increase customer satisfaction, and deliver strong financial performance,” Vlad Tenev, CEO and cofounder of Robinhood, said in a statement.
Despite the 30% year-over-year decrease in crypto transaction revenue, the 1% decline compared with the preceding quarter may signal that the precipitous decline seen during Crypto Winter may be near its end.
Coinbase, another publicly traded company that relies even more heavily on revenue from crypto transactions, similarly saw a rosier-than-thought first quarter in 2023, beating analysts’ expectations.