The chief executive of Robinhood Markets Inc. on Wednesday dismissed the idea that the company might be acquired after it announced job cuts as it tries to reduce costs and reverse a decline in trading on its platform.
Robinhood shares closed up nearly 12 percent on Wednesday, following a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and the announcement that it was laying off 23 percent of its staff.
In an earnings call, Robinhood Chief Executive Officer Vlad Tenev shut down prospects for a deal, adding that the retail trading platform itself has about $6 billion available to acquire companies “that can help us accelerate our roadmap.”
With Robinhood’s share price under pressure due to slumping equity and crypto markets in recent months, analysts had asked if the company might do a deal with rival retail brokerage Charles Schwab or crypto trading platform FTX, whose founder Samuel Bankman-Fried bought a 7.6 percent stake in Robinhood in May….