Robinhood is raking in more money than ever on customer trades as new investors flood the stock market during the pandemic. Despite not charging customers to trade, the Silicon Valley start-up made $180 million off trades in the second quarter — roughly double from the prior year, according to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission regulatory filing. The majority of that total came from options trading. {table} Robinhood, and the rest of the online brokerage industry, rely on what’s known as payment for order flow as their profit engine in lieu of commissions. The pioneer of “free trading,” Robinhood’s business ... (full story)