Retail investor-friendly brokerage Robinhood Markets Inc HOOD is pushing the boundaries of the fintech space with its strategic acquisition of San Francisco-based X1, a platform that offers a no-fee credit card.
What Happened: The move marks a step in Robinhood's journey to broaden its product offerings and deepen its relationship with existing customers. The deal is valued at around $95 million in cash, Robinhood's press release said, subject to customary closing adjustments and conditions. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.
"Together with X1, Robinhood will now be able to offer our customers access to credit," Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said in the release.
X1, backed by fintech giants including PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL co-founder Max Levchin, is known for its customer-friendly approach. Its credit card has annual fees, late fees, or foreign transaction fees.
X1 co-founders Deepak Rao and Siddharth Batra are slated to join Robinhood, leading the new business line, the release said.
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Why It Matters: Robinhood has made strides in recent years to offer products beyond its core trading services.
The platform now offers 24-hour cryptocurrency and stock trading on select equities and ETFs, a 4.65% interest rate on uninvested cash, and a debit card. The X1 acquisition appears to be the next step in a broader strategy to dominate the fintech landscape.
The deal comes amid a dip in Robinhoods core revenue, according to Reuters. The company has been hit by decreased retail trading activity due to the impact of interest rate hikes on the markets.
The companys expanded offerings also aim to improve its average revenue per customer and bolster cross-selling to its existing base. Robinhood has already seen an uptick in its revenue from deposits and seeks to boost it further with the interchange revenue from credit cards.
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Donald Trump begins bulldozing much of the White House as his plans to build a mega ballroom begin – without planning permission, nor true clarity as to how it’s all being funded.
There are aesthetic questions, historical questions and ethical questions. We dig into what they are.
And – who is the young Democratic socialist about to become New York City’s first Muslim mayor? We tell you everything you need to know about Zohran Mamdani.
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NEW YORK — Mired in a six-game losing streak to start another rebuilding season, the San Jose Sharks had two young franchise cornerstones deliver exactly the kind of performances the team is hoping to get from them for the next decade or more.
Macklin Celebrini had a hat trick and set up Will Smith‘s overtime goal to give the 2024 No. 1 pick his second five-point game early in his second NHL season, and the Sharks are no longer the only team in the league without a victory. Oh, and it came at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers, who were looking to win at home for the first time this fall.
“It’s good to see the young guys firing like that,” said enforcer Ryan Reaves, whose early fight against Matt Rempe on Thursday night fired up the Sharks. “We need those guys to step up in big games, and they both did.”
Reaves threw his helmet onto the ice to celebrate Celebrini’s third goal of the night late in the second period.
“I was just making sure there was something on the ice for him,” Reaves said. “I didn’t know how far up the Sharkie fans were, if they had good arms or not, so I was just making sure there was one on there for him.”
There were a few others to clean up, though many more when Taylor Raddysh of the Rangers got his third for dueling hat tricks at the Garden. But Celebrini stole the show by assisting on Smith’s goal in the third period and then again in OT.
“It speaks for itself, to be honest, to do that at MSG on a huge stage,” said Smith, who had four points in his own right. “In a game where we needed him, he showed up.”
Counting a point from 2025 No. 2 pick Michael Misa, the Sharks got 10 from players age 20 or younger for the second time since April. The last team to do that before them was Toronto on Jan. 8, 1986.
“When you draft them that high, you expect them to perform like that and they’ve proven time and time again why they were drafted that high and why all that was going to be put on their shoulders,” Reaves said. “It’s great to see.”
It came against the backdrop of San Jose starting 0-4-2 – the fourth consecutive season the team has lost at least four in a row at the beginning. After his team’s morning skate, second-year coach Ryan Warsofsky offered an optimistic message.
“We’re not going to quit,” Warsofsky said. “There’s still a lot of hockey to be played. We’re going to keep going. We’re going to keep pushing and challenging and we’re going to get out of this together.”
It was fitting that the most important building blocks led the way. The Sharks have not made the playoffs for the past six years and are not expected to again this season, but they do hope to take a step forward in the process of growing into a contender again.
In an effort to do that, they added veterans like Reaves and Stanley Cup champion defenseman Dmitry Orlov to the mix.
“We have a great group,” said Barclay Goodrow, who won the Cup with Tampa Bay in 2020 and ’21 and landed with the Sharks when they claimed him off waivers from the Rangers in the summer of ’24. “Lots of youth that keeps us old guys younger. It’s fun coming to the rink every day.”
Celebrini and Smith had some fun out on the town in New York City during this swing, which also included a team outing to see “Book of Mormon” on Broadway. A song from the show played in the victorious visiting locker room after the 6-5 win.
“Felt like it brought the boys together a little bit,” Reaves said. “It might be the new one.”
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