The trading app that’s become synonymous with the “Reddit rally” is about to open the kimono.
Robinhood Markets Inc. expects to publicly file key financial data with the Securities and Exchange Commission next week ahead of its planned initial public offering in June, Bloomberg reported.
The planned S-1 filing will provide the first glimpse into the inner workings of an app used by more than 13 million people to trade securities and crypto. The document will detail Robinhood’s current financial status and explain how it plans to use the money raised from its IPO.
The move follows Robinhood’s confidential IPO filing in March, allowing the Securities and Exchange Commission to first review its paperwork before showing it to the world.
The IPO comes on the heels of a tumultuous year for the no-fee trading app, which soared in popularity last year as stuck-at-home consumers looked for ways to spend their stimulus checks.
The app soon became popular with day traders intent on taking down Wall Street by buying stocks large hedge funds bet would decline in value, including video game retailer GameStop. But its decision to halt buying of Gamestop as investors piled into the stock backfired in part because Robinhood makes money through order flow paid by Wall Street clearing firms.
The apparent conflict of interest spawned a spate of congressional hearings that forced Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev to defend the company’s actions in front of top political figures.
Robinhood has also recently come under fire for the “gamification of trading,” or using gimmicks to encourage small investors to trade more, resulting in more order flow and therefore more money for the app.
The new SEC chief, Gary Gensler, has vowed to look into the issue and cautioned investors in a hearing earlier this month that there’s no such thing as a free app. “There are costs. It’s like an iceberg: Most of the iceberg is below the surface,” Gensler said. “The costs are below the surface.”





