Hey, Coinbase. Want To Boost Shareholder Value? Lay Off Employees, Analyst Says

Sure, Coinbase Global Inc COIN may benefit from FTX’s collapse.

But you know what would really be great for shareholder value? Laying off employees.

That's according to Piper Sandler's Richard Repetto who recently compared Coinbase’s headcount to that of Robinhood Markets HOOD.

Read also: How Much Bitcoin Does Coinbase Really Have? CEO Brian Armstrong Responds To 'FUD' From CZ

“Coinbase and Robinhood had roughly the same number of employees at [the end of 2021], but Coinbase had almost double Robinhood’s headcount at the end of 2022,” Repetto said in a note published Friday. Coinbase’s revenue per employee has fallen behind Robinhood’s for the first time in at least 18 months, he explained.

Coinbase already reduced its workforce by 18% this year. But that's not good enough for Repetto and his co-author Patrick Moley. The company’s headcount is up 26% year to date through the end of the third quarter, they noted.

A more aggressive workforce reduction, what Repetto and Moley call "right sizing," would be "a prudent step in managing expenses and sustaining shareholder value" in the event of an extended "crypto winter."

It's worth noting that Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas has contingency plans in case the crypto downturn persists and/or trading conditions materially worsen from where they are at the moment.

Repetto was kind enough to point out that Coinbase, unlike Robinhood, operates internationally and perhaps that necessitates "a larger headcount." However, Robinhood moved aggressively toward cost-cutting earlier this year, shed 37% of its staff by the end of the third quarter and still pursued new product development, he added.

• Coinbase End of Third Quarter Headcount: 4,706
• Robinhood End of Third Quarter Headcount: 2,400
• Coinbase Revenue Twelve Months End of Third Quarter: $5.064 billion, down 14.55% year-over-year.
• Robinhood Revenue Twelve Months End of Third Quarter: $1.341 billion, down 24.21% year-over-year.

COIN Price Action: Shares of Coinbase are trading 1.73% higher to $46.06, according to data from Benzinga Pro. The stock has a 52-week high of $305.32, and a 52-week low of $40.61.

HOOD Price Action: Shares of Robinhood are trading 0.41% higher to $9.91, according to data from Benzinga Pro. The stock has a 52-week high of $24.29, and a 52-week low of $6.81.