Virtu announced its fourth quarter results, beating expectations. Virtu's total revenue reached $705.6 million. The adjusted net trading income reached a total of $485.6 million. Basic and diluted earnings per share were $0.90 and $0.89, respectively with a normalized adjusted EPS of $1.19.

In addition, Virtu Financial's Board of Directors announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.24 per share. The dividend will be payable on March 15, 2022, to shareholders as of March 1, 2022. The revenue is attributed to higher trading volumes in US  equities  Equities Equities can be characterized as stocks or shares in a company that investors can buy or sell. When you buy a stock, you are in essence buying an equity, becoming a partial owner of shares in a specific company or fund.However, equities do not pay a fixed interest rate, and as such are not considered guaranteed income. As such, equity markets are often associated with risk.When a company issues bonds, it’s taking loans from buyers. When a company offers shares, on the other hand, it’s selling partial ownership in the company.There are many reasons for individuals investing in equities. In the United States for example, equity markets are amongst the largest in terms of transactions, investors, and turnover.Why Invest in Equities?Overall, the appeal of equities the potential for high returns. Most portfolios feature some portion of equity exposure for growth.In terms of investing, younger individuals can afford to take on higher levels of equity exposure, i.e. risk. Consequently, these people have more stocks in their portfolio because of their potential for returns over time. However, as you are planning to retire, equity exposure becomes more of a risk.This why many investors or holders of retirement accounts transition at least part of their investments from stocks to bonds or fixed-income as they get older.Equity holders can also benefit through dividends, which differ notably from capital gains or price differences in stocks you have purchased.Dividends reflect periodic payments made from a company to its shareholders. They’re taxed like long-term capital gains, which vary by country. Equities can be characterized as stocks or shares in a company that investors can buy or sell. When you buy a stock, you are in essence buying an equity, becoming a partial owner of shares in a specific company or fund.However, equities do not pay a fixed interest rate, and as such are not considered guaranteed income. As such, equity markets are often associated with risk.When a company issues bonds, it’s taking loans from buyers. When a company offers shares, on the other hand, it’s selling partial ownership in the company.There are many reasons for individuals investing in equities. In the United States for example, equity markets are amongst the largest in terms of transactions, investors, and turnover.Why Invest in Equities?Overall, the appeal of equities the potential for high returns. Most portfolios feature some portion of equity exposure for growth.In terms of investing, younger individuals can afford to take on higher levels of equity exposure, i.e. risk. Consequently, these people have more stocks in their portfolio because of their potential for returns over time. However, as you are planning to retire, equity exposure becomes more of a risk.This why many investors or holders of retirement accounts transition at least part of their investments from stocks to bonds or fixed-income as they get older.Equity holders can also benefit through dividends, which differ notably from capital gains or price differences in stocks you have purchased.Dividends reflect periodic payments made from a company to its shareholders. They’re taxed like long-term capital gains, which vary by country. Read this Term.

source: Virtu Financial

3.7 million shares were repurchased in Q4 and an additional 1.5 million in January at an average cost of $28.13 for a total of $145 million repurchased. For the year, Virtu's revenue was $1.91 billion.

In Q3 of 2021, the company's revenue came in at $544.3 million. The decline (which followed a weak Q2) was due to lower trading volumes in US equities. The trading income (net) dropped -10.7% to $393.3 million.

Virtu Financial stock opened higher following the results, trading at $33.55 (+4.54%) at the time of writing.

More Trading Platforms to Add Stocks

As there is some correlation between US equities' volume and Virtu's revenue, more companies added the ability to trade US equities through their platforms.

etoro, a well-known  trading platform  Trading Platform In the FX space, a currency trading platform is a software provided by brokers to their respective client base, garnering access as traders in the broader market. Most commonly, this reflects an online interface or mobile app, complete with tools for order processing.Every broker needs one or more trading platforms to accommodate the needs of different clients. Being the backbone of the company’s offering, a trading platform provides clients with quotes, a selection of instruments to trade, real-time updates on quotes, charts and is the main frontend which customers are facing.Brokers either use existing trading platforms and sometimes customize them, or develop their own platform from scratch. Since the beginning of the retail FX trading business MetaQuotes and its platforms MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) have been the industry standard, especially when it comes to automated trading.MT4 Shows Resiliency While MT4 has long been seen as ubiquitous amongst brokers’ offerings, a targeted push by MetaQuotes themselves has led to broader adoption of MT5 in recent years. Advanced trading platforms such as MT4 or MT5 also allow access to a wide range of asset classes available for trading.The development of trading platforms over the past decade has failed to successfully dethrone MT4 or MT5, notably in the retail market. However, in institutional markets, brokerage companies and banking entities also construct and utilize proprietary currency trading platforms to help satisfy internal needs with trades executed through institutional trading channels.By far the most important parameter for many retail clients is the optionality and pairs available on trading platforms. Additionally, demand by traders has led to a greater emphasis on newer features such as advanced charting and other tools. In the FX space, a currency trading platform is a software provided by brokers to their respective client base, garnering access as traders in the broader market. Most commonly, this reflects an online interface or mobile app, complete with tools for order processing.Every broker needs one or more trading platforms to accommodate the needs of different clients. Being the backbone of the company’s offering, a trading platform provides clients with quotes, a selection of instruments to trade, real-time updates on quotes, charts and is the main frontend which customers are facing.Brokers either use existing trading platforms and sometimes customize them, or develop their own platform from scratch. Since the beginning of the retail FX trading business MetaQuotes and its platforms MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) have been the industry standard, especially when it comes to automated trading.MT4 Shows Resiliency While MT4 has long been seen as ubiquitous amongst brokers’ offerings, a targeted push by MetaQuotes themselves has led to broader adoption of MT5 in recent years. Advanced trading platforms such as MT4 or MT5 also allow access to a wide range of asset classes available for trading.The development of trading platforms over the past decade has failed to successfully dethrone MT4 or MT5, notably in the retail market. However, in institutional markets, brokerage companies and banking entities also construct and utilize proprietary currency trading platforms to help satisfy internal needs with trades executed through institutional trading channels.By far the most important parameter for many retail clients is the optionality and pairs available on trading platforms. Additionally, demand by traders has led to a greater emphasis on newer features such as advanced charting and other tools. Read this Term recently added exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and stocks. Lule Demmissie, the CEO of eToro US, said, "For many new investors, crypto investing is a gateway to investing in stocks, and with broader access to financial education and fewer barriers to entry for first-time investors, we expect this trend to continue. As we continue to expand our offering in one of the world’s most important financial markets, we look forward to empowering U.S. users to expand their investing journey on the eToro platform and interact with our social community in new ways.”

Both FTX US and Bitstamp announced that they are looking to integrate stocks into their platforms.