Robinhood Reports Strong Year-On-Year Growth Despite Mixed August Metrics

Core Insights - Robinhood's customer base remains stable with 26.7 million funded customers, flat month-over-month but up 2.4 million year-over-year [1][2] - Total platform assets increased to $304 billion, a 2% rise from July and a 112% increase compared to August 2024 [2] - Net deposits for August reached $4.8 billion, reflecting a 19% annualized growth rate [2] Customer Metrics - The brokerage experienced a slight decline in new accounts due to the escheatment of approximately 180,000 low-balance accounts [1] - Year-over-year growth in customer numbers indicates strong retention and acquisition strategies [1][2] Trading Activity - Equity notional volumes totaled $199.2 billion, down 5% from July but more than double compared to a year earlier [3] - Options trading remained stable at 195.5 million contracts, representing a 33% increase year-over-year [3][4] - Crypto trading volumes showed mixed results, with $13.7 billion in notional volume, down 18% from July but up 154% year-over-year [3] Daily Average Revenue Trades (DARTs) - Equity DARTs fell 7% month-on-month to 2.5 million, while options DARTs rose 9% to 1.2 million [4] - Crypto DARTs decreased 14% to 0.6 million but still doubled compared to August 2024 [4] Margin and Cash Balances - Margin balances grew to $12.5 billion, a 10% increase from July and a 127% rise year-over-year [5] - Cash sweep balances reached $34.1 billion, up 1% from the previous month and 50% higher than a year ago [5][6] Securities Lending - Securities lending revenue for August was $53 million, a 13% decline from July but up 165% compared to August 2024 [7] - The year-on-year growth indicates strong demand for stock borrow despite monthly fluctuations [7] Overall Outlook - Robinhood's August results indicate a platform that is expanding its assets and margin activity, with mixed trading volumes across asset classes [8] - The addition of Bitstamp is positively impacting crypto flows, while increased cash sweep balances and lending revenues suggest effective monetization of customer balances [8][9] - With a 112% year-over-year asset growth, Robinhood is positioned for continued scaling ahead of its next quarterly update [9]