(Reuters) -Robinhood reported a surge in second-quarter revenue, boosted by strong trading in equities and cryptocurrencies, sending shares up 2% after the bell.
The online commission-free brokerage reported net revenue of $682 million in the three months ended June 30 on Wednesday. That compares with $486 million in the year-ago quarter.
The trading app, best known for its popularity with mom-and-pop investors, saw a surge in trading volumes as meme-stock influencer Keith Gill returned to social media and reignited interest in the highly shorted shares of videogame retailer GameStop.
Its equity trading volumes surged 82% in April and 76% in May, compared with a year earlier.
Meanwhile, the crypto markets also logged a stellar first half of the year led by gains in bitcoin, the largest and most recognized token globally.
That led to a crypto trading volume surge of 238% in May, while April recorded a 173% jump.
Sentiment has improved considerably since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved an exchange-traded fund to track bitcoin’s spot price in January, and more recently gave the greenlight to a similar product for ether.
In the aftermath, Robinhood’s transaction-based revenues jumped 69% in the quarter to $327 million.
(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
