FEATURED

Robinhood Is No Longer Just a Trading App

There’s a version of this story that starts with the meme-stock mania of 2021, the payment-for-order-flow controversy, the congressional hearings. That version is outdated. The Robinhood that exists in June 2026 barely resembles it.

Here’s where things actually stand.

The Numbers Arriving in May

Robinhood’s May 2026 operating data landed on June 9, and the figures were hard to argue with. Total platform assets hit $377 billion — up 9% from April, and up 48% year over year. Funded customers reached 27.7 million, up roughly 1.76 million from a year ago. Net deposits came in at $5.6 billion for the month, representing a 19% annualized growth rate relative to April platform assets. Over the trailing twelve months, net deposits totaled $69.1 billion, growing at a 27% annual rate relative to May 2025 platform assets.

That’s not a trading app doing trading app things. That’s an asset accumulation story.

Equity notional trading volumes in May were $315.3 billion — up 75% year over year. Average daily volumes hit $15.8 billion, up 84% from the same period last year. Options contracts traded topped 231 million, up 29% year over year. Margin balances rose to $19.5 billion, up 117% year over year.

Slight tangent worth noting: the margin balance figure is one of the most underappreciated signals here. When users borrow more on a platform, they’re treating it like a primary financial relationship, not a side account. That’s a behavioral shift that compounds quietly.

A Business Changing Underneath Everyone

The headline move of the past few weeks was Robinhood Securities receiving approval on June 9 to underwrite IPOs — a domain that has historically belonged to investment banks. CEO Vlad Tenev announced on X that Robinhood Securities is now approved to serve as an underwriter. Until now, the company’s role in public offerings depended largely on allocations from traditional Wall Street banks. That changes things.

Underwriting fees are paid by issuers — not dependent on whether customers happen to be trading actively in any given week. It’s a step toward revenue that’s structurally less volatile than transaction-based income. For a company that saw cryptocurrency transaction revenue drop 47% year over year in Q1 2026, diversifying away from activity-sensitive revenue is exactly the right move. The timing matters too: the approval landed days before SpaceX’s anticipated record IPO, and Robinhood was among the brokerages selected to offer shares in that offering.

Beyond IPOs, Robinhood has been building out TradePMR for registered investment advisors, expanding prediction markets (which surged 320% in Q1), launching AI-powered investing tools, and pushing further into banking-adjacent services. Full-year 2025 revenue came in at a record $4.5 billion. Net income for full-year 2025 was $1.9 billion, with a net profit margin around 42%.

The Tension in the Story

None of this means HOOD is a simple buy. The stock pulled back sharply from its all-time closing high of $152.46 in October 2025, and even after a strong May rally of roughly 29% — the stock’s best month in 2026 — shares have been trading in the $105 to $109 range as of mid-June. That puts the valuation at roughly 50 times trailing earnings, which assumes meaningful execution on a transformation still underway.

The Q1 2026 earnings miss didn’t help sentiment. Revenue of $1.07 billion came in below the consensus estimate of around $1.14 billion, and diluted EPS of $0.38 grew just 3% year over year — a real deceleration from prior quarters, driven primarily by the crypto revenue drag. Management guided for Q2 EPS of $0.45 and revenue of approximately $1.23 billion, signaling they expect a recovery.

Analyst sentiment has been shifting upward. According to data from S&P Global, 27 analysts carry a consensus Buy rating with an average 12-month price target around $101 to $106 — though several firms have raised targets recently, with Needham at $97, Deutsche Bank at $105, and Mizuho at $115. The earnings outlook per Zacks estimates points to a potential year-over-year decline in 2026 EPS before a projected 34.5% jump in 2027 as the product mix broadens.

So the question isn’t whether Robinhood is growing. It clearly is. The question is whether the market is correctly pricing a platform in transition, or whether it’s still treating HOOD like a volatile retail trading app that happens to run hot when volatility spikes.

What the Next Phase Looks Like

The more interesting frame for HOOD going forward isn’t trading revenue. It’s the $377 billion in platform assets and where that number goes as wealth management, IPO access, and banking products mature. Gold subscribers hit a record 4.3 million in Q1, up 36% year over year. Average revenue per user climbed 8% to $157. Those are the numbers that point toward a different kind of business — one less dependent on whether crypto happens to be rallying this quarter.

Q2 2026 earnings are expected in late July. That’s the next real test. Good looks like total revenue holding in the mid-teens growth range with non-crypto lines visibly expanding. The IPO underwriting approval and the May operating data have made the bull case easier to tell. Whether the stock at current levels has already priced that in is the part worth digging into yourself.

Full breakdown worth a look.