Robinhood Markets (HOOD) is a revolutionary fintech company that changed the way that many retail investors buy and sell stocks. The company’s easy-to-use app made investing fun, and its commission-free stock trades meant that users could avoid using a paid broker to make changes to their portfolio.
There are a lot of companies that have followed Robinhood’s lead in offering free trades and fractional shares, but Robinhood was a true innovator. Now the company is preparing to step up to the podium after the closing bell Tuesday for its first-quarter earnings report.
What should investors be looking for when Robinhood posts earnings? And should they be looking to buy or sell HOOD stock before or after the release?
About Robinhood Stock
Based in Menlo Park, California, Robinhood is a financial broker that offers trading in stocks, exchange-traded funds, and cryptocurrencies. Also, Robinhood allows trading in prediction markets, with hundreds of events from which to choose, including sports, politics, and other data.
Robinhood makes its money on stock trades by routing them through market makers to execute orders, and those companies pay Robinhood a small fee as a commission. Cryptocurrency revenues come from trading on the spread, with Robinhood makes money on the small difference between what it charges customers and the price of the asset.
Prediction market revenue is still somewhat new, but HOOD charges a commission of $0.01 on every contract sold.
Shares are up 69.18% over the last 12 months, soundly beating the 29.8% return of the S&P 500 Index ($SPX) over that time. But be aware that in 2026, Robinhood stock is down 26% as the sagging price of many cryptos has diminished trading.
Robinhood has a hefty forward price-to-earnings ratio of 42.41 times as traditional banks such as Bank of America (BAC) is priced at just 11.8 times. But investors likely expect to pay a premium for a disruptive fintech like HOOD, which had a forward P/E of more than 60 late last year.
What Should You Expect from Robinhood Earnings?
Robinhood, which has 27.4 million funded customers and about $314 billion in assets on its platform, has a history of exceeding analysts’ expectations on earnings. In the fourth quarter, the company posted earnings of $0.66 per share, beating expectations by $0.03 per share. For this quarter, the consensus estimate from seven analysts has Robinhood reporting earnings of $0.40, which would be 8% year-over-year (YOY) growth.
However, investors should be prepared for a continued slowdown in cryptocurrency revenue. Robinhood disclosed that in January, it saw Robinhood App Notional Volumes in its crypto volume decreased 57% from a year ago. However, total net deposits rose 17% to $4.5 billion, and event contract trading was $3.4 billion.
For all of 2025, Robinhood posted revenue of $4.5 billion, up a whopping 52% from a year ago, and net income of $1.9 billion versus $1.4 billion in 2024.
What Do Analysts Expect for Robinhood Stock?
Analysts generally have a rosy outlook for the fintech company. Robinhood has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from 24 analysts who cover the stock, with only two giving a “Strong Sell” rating and 16 offering a “Strong Buy” stance.
The mean price target of $105.45 represents potential upside of 25.9% in HOOD stock, while the most bullish target of $165 suggests potential upside of 97%.
As we consider Robinhood ahead of earnings, there’s nothing here that would convince me to buy Robinhood before earnings. The cryptocurrency space, which has been so lucrative for Robinhood over the years, is dragging the stock. However, for long-term investors, Robinhood is a quality fintech that has its hands in many different revenue streams, and many appreciate that the stock has been deeply discounted over the last six months.
On the date of publication, Patrick Sanders did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.