Robinhood CFO Says Brokers Are in a 'Food Fight' for Retail Shares of Anthropic IPO

Robinhood wants a bigger slice of the Anthropic IPO for everyday investors, and it is not the only broker asking.

CFO Shiv Verma told Bloomberg Television on Nov. 2 that the competition among retail brokerages is intense. "It's a food fight out there, so we're going to let our demand speak for itself, and then let the companies decide," he said.

Robinhood collects demand but does not set the allocation

Verma described Robinhood's role plainly. The firm gathers share requests from its customers and presents that volume to the issuer and its managing underwriters. Those parties make the final call on how many shares go to retail.

That limits Robinhood's leverage. It can show appetite. It cannot dictate terms.

In an updated IPO filing released Nov. 2, Anthropic named Robinhood as one of the brokerages that will sell shares to retail investors. Anthropic first filed for the IPO on Oct. 26. The listing is expected before the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

Verma declined to say how much of the offering retail will get, citing the quiet period. The final retail allocation and the pricing have not been disclosed.

What retail used to get, and what Robinhood is asking for

Verma said retail investors historically received 1% to 2% of a hot IPO. Getting 5% was considered a windfall, he said on Bloomberg Businessweek's podcast.

He says the conversation with issuers has changed. Companies now ask how far they can go, he said: "Can I go to five? Can I go to ten? Can I go to 20?"

Verma's argument to issuers is that retail is a permanent force. "Retail is here, they are a force to stay, and given they're 20% to 25% of the equities market, they should consider a large allocation to retail," he said.

He pointed to two reference points. SpaceX allocated roughly 15% to 20% of its June offering to retail, according to Verma. Robinhood set aside 20% of its own shares for individual investors when it went public.

In the SpaceX deal, Robinhood, Charles Schwab, Fidelity, SoFi and Morgan Stanley's E*Trade all competed for enhanced allotments. Every eligible customer who requested shares through those platforms received some.

Robinhood has its own stake in the outcome

A bigger retail block is good for Robinhood's business as well as its customers. Verma said Robinhood's engagement is growing about 50% year over year, and that trading momentum on the platform is part of the case it makes to issuers.

The company reported record quarterly revenue of $1.4 billion, yet its stock is down roughly 24% this year, according to the Businessweek podcast interview. HOOD shares slipped about 1.4% on Monday.

Verma also gave figures on newer products. Agentic AI trading accounts stand at roughly 200,000 with $250 million in assets. Prediction markets are running at a $500 million-plus annual rate, with non-sports contracts rising to 30% of the mix from 15% a quarter earlier.

The company retail would be buying

Anthropic, the developer of the Claude chatbot, reported roughly $17 billion in revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30. That is a 1,127% jump from a year earlier.

The quarter also showed an operating loss of $567 million against adjusted operating income of $2.5 billion, a 15% adjusted margin. The reported net loss was $23.29 billion.

Anthropic has also disclosed plans to spend more than $895 billion over the next several years. The gap between the adjusted and reported figures, and between operating and net results, is the kind of detail a retail buyer would want to weigh before putting money in.

Verma called the offering "a bellwether for the market." Retail sentiment on Stocktwits was bearish, with normal message volume.

What comes next

The open question is the number. Anthropic and its underwriters have not said whether retail will land near the traditional 1% to 2%, the 5% Verma called a windfall, or the 15% to 20% SpaceX set aside. Final retail allocations are likely to be known when the offering prices ahead of the expected pre-Thanksgiving listing.