Key Takeaways

  • Robinhood's new CFO Shiv Verma's compensation package includes a $500,000 base salary, a target bonus of 60% of base salary, and an annual equity target of approximately $2.3 million that vests quarterly over four years, the company recently disclosed in a securities filing.
  • Before assuming the CFO role on February 6, Verma, 40, had served as senior vice president of finance and strategy and treasurer at the investment and trading platform since 2018, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Menlo Park, California-based company first announced the CFO transition in November. Verma succeeds Jason Warnick, who stepped down as CFO on February 6 and will remain as an advisor through September 1.
  • Just days after Verma took on the company's top financial role, the trading platform reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results on Tuesday that missed expectations, sending shares down about 7% that day. The stock is down about 38% year-to-date, according to Nasdaq data.

Deep Dive

As CFO, Verma's compensation package appears to be far lower than what his predecessor earned in 2024, the most recent year for which proxy data is available. Warnick, who stepped down after seven years as CFO, received total compensation of approximately $8.8 million in 2024, including a $550,000 base salary and $6.7 million in stock awards, according to Robinhood's latest proxy filing submitted in April.

Shawn Cole, president of executive search firm Cowen Partners, cautioned against directly comparing the two compensation packages, noting that one is a forward-looking target while the other is based on reported compensation. In an email, he said Verma's package represents Robinhood's current compensation plan for an internal successor, including base salary, bonus, and equity targets, while "Warnick's total compensation reflects what was actually granted and reportable for that year, including one-time equity awards related to retention or transition."

Cole also noted: "I think Robinhood is now on track and should move from a foundational build-out and retention incentive (more equity) to a more standard public company compensation framework."

Warnick, who helped take the company public in its 2021 initial public offering, saw his compensation decline to $8.8 million in 2024 from $10.2 million in 2023, according to proxy data.

Verma takes over Robinhood's financial reins as the company pushes for sustainable growth, but a prolonged "crypto winter" has weighed on digital asset trading volumes. According to The Economist, this "crypto winter" has erased a cumulative $2 trillion from the total cryptocurrency market value.

Robinhood's fourth-quarter cryptocurrency revenue fell 38% year-over-year to $221 million, according to its earnings report. The trading platform's net income also dropped to $605 million from $916 million in the same period last year, with fourth-quarter 2024 net income including a $424 million benefit from tax and regulatory accrual reversals.

Verma and other business leaders expressed optimism about the future of cryptocurrency on the earnings call, but also emphasized the platform's diversification strategy.

In response to an analyst's question, Verma said the company remains "long-term bullish" on cryptocurrency. But he added: "It's important to remember that even though our crypto revenue was close to $1 billion last year, that only represents 18% of our total revenue."

On his first earnings call as CFO, Verma reiterated confidence in Robinhood's strong growth, noting that the company set records in revenue, net deposits, and adjusted EBITDA, he said on the call.

For the full year, net income reached $1.9 billion, up from $1.4 billion in the prior year; full-year adjusted EBITDA grew 76% to $2.5 billion. Verma said that in the coming year, Robinhood will continue its growth momentum, aiming for continued progress in new product initiatives and net deposits.

"In 2026, we plan to accelerate product iteration while delivering another year of profitable growth," Verma said on the call. "We have a massive opportunity ahead of us, and we see a path to continued shareholder value compounding for years to come."