OMAHA, Neb. – Berkshire Hathaway’s vice-chairman Charles Munger said on Saturday that retail broker Robinhood Markets Inc, which is trading near a record low, was getting its comeuppance.
After a peak in 2020 in trading volumes, Robinhood posted a 43% fall in first-quarter revenue earlier this month as transaction volumes declined across asset classes amid poor performance of shares. The company said it was laying off 9% of its full-time workforce.
“Look what happened to Robinhood from peak to trough, wasn’t it obvious something like that was going to happen?” said Munger. “When it came out and went public and everyone went gambling… it was disgusting… Now it’s unraveling, God is getting just.”
The firm was at the center of the retail trading frenzy when investors used the platform last year to pump money into shares of so-called meme stocks, including GameStop and AMC Entertainment.
Shares of the Menlo Park, California-based firm were sold in its IPO last July for $38 apiece. They closed on Friday at $9.80.
Robinhood did not immediately respond to request for comment.
(Reporting by Carolina Mandl; Editing by Nick Zieminski)