Beta Finch - Robinhood Marke - HOOD - EN

**BETA FINCH PODCAST SCRIPT**---**ALEX:** Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown. I'm Alex, and I'm here with my co-host Jordan to dive into Robinhood's latest quarterly results. Jordan, this was quite the earnings call – they literally held it outdoors in Menlo Park, which CEO Vlad Tenev claimed might be the first outdoor earnings call in history.**JORDAN:** That's so Robinhood, isn't it? Always trying to shake things up. But before we get into the fun stuff, Alex, I need to mention that this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.**ALEX:** Thanks Jordan. Now, let's talk numbers first. Robinhood reported Q1 2026 revenue of $1.07 billion, which is 15% growth year-over-year. That's solid, especially considering the macro headwinds they faced early in the year with market volatility.**JORDAN:** Right, and what caught my eye was their net deposits – $18 billion in the quarter, which represents their third-highest ever and continues that 20% annualized growth trend. That's their North Star metric, so seeing customers continue to trust them with more money despite market turbulence is really encouraging.**ALEX:** Absolutely. And their Gold subscriber base hit 4.3 million, up 36% year-over-year. What's really impressive is that 40% of new customers are signing up for Gold right away. That's a massive jump from the low single digits they used to see.**JORDAN:** That Gold attachment rate tells a story about customer stickiness, doesn't it? When people are paying for premium features, they're more likely to stick around and use multiple products. Speaking of which, let's talk about the elephant in the room – this Trump Accounts partnership.**ALEX:** Oh wow, yes. This was the big announcement. Robinhood is serving as the initial broker and sole trustee for something called "Trump Accounts" – a government program run through the U.S. Department of Treasury. Over 5.5 million American children are already signed up, with 60 million eligible total.**JORDAN:** The scale is mind-boggling. Tenev called it "getting Robinhood technology in front of the next generation of investors." They're investing an incremental $100 million to build this out, with about half of that hitting Q2. But here's the key – it's structured as a cost-plus contract, so revenues should exceed costs.**ALEX:** What struck me was Tenev saying their aspiration is for this to be "the best technology product that the government has ever built or been associated with." That's a bold claim, but if they pull it off, it positions them as a legitimate government contractor for future projects.**JORDAN:** Exactly. And when an analyst asked about the "plural" in helping "governments," Tenev mentioned they've already heard from multiple states and even other countries wanting similar programs. This could be the start of a whole new business vertical for them.**ALEX:** Let's shift to their trading business. They saw record levels across prediction markets, futures, index options, shorting, and margin. Their prediction market exchange "Rothera" – a joint venture with Susquehanna – is launching in Q2, which gives them end-to-end control instead of relying on third-party exchanges.**JORDAN:** That vertical integration is huge for prediction markets. And speaking of records, April was shaping up to be their second-highest trading month in history for equities and options. Net deposits in April alone were already around $5 billion month-to-date when they reported.**ALEX:** Their banking product really impressed me too. It grew 5x since last earnings, hit $2 billion in net deposits with 125,000 funded customers, and has a 40% direct deposit rate. That last stat is crucial – it means people are using this as their primary bank account, notThis episode includes AI-generated content.

**BETA FINCH PODCAST SCRIPT**---**ALEX:** Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown. I'm Alex, and joining me as always is my co-host Jordan. Today we're diving into Robinhood's Q4 2025 earnings call - and folks, this was quite the presentation from CEO Vlad Tenev and new CFO Shiv Verma.**JORDAN:** Before we jump in though, Alex, we need to be crystal clear with our listeners - this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.**ALEX:** Absolutely right, Jordan. Now, let's talk numbers because Robinhood delivered some impressive results. Revenue hit $4.5 billion for the full year - that's 52% growth year-over-year. Jordan, what jumped out at you from these financials?**JORDAN:** The scale of growth is remarkable, Alex. But what's even more impressive is the profitability story. Adjusted EBITDA reached $2.5 billion with a 56% margin - that's a new high for them. And they delivered incremental EBITDA margins above 70% for the third straight year. This isn't just a growth story anymore; it's a profitable growth story.**ALEX:** And speaking of growth, their platform assets nearly hit $324 billion - up almost 70% year-over-year. Vlad mentioned they had positive net transfers from all major brokerage competitors for eight quarters straight. That's quite a streak.**JORDAN:** That competitive positioning really shows in their market share gains. They're claiming to be number one in options industry-wide now, based on the latest reports. But Alex, what I found fascinating was how diversified this business has become. They now have 11 business lines generating over $100 million in annualized revenue each.**ALEX:** Right, and prediction markets was the standout story. Vlad called it their "fastest growing business in history" with over $12 billion in contracts traded in 2025. But here's what's interesting - they're already seeing diversification beyond sports. NBA contracts actually surpassed NFL in January trading activity.**JORDAN:** That diversification theme extends to their international expansion too. They're up to 750,000 customers outside the US, and Vlad made a bold prediction - he thinks they'll look back and realize they underestimated how big international could be. The Bitstamp acquisition seems to be paying off with volumes doubling since the June close.**ALEX:** Now let's talk about their 2026 outlook because this is where things get really ambitious. Shiv laid out expense guidance of $2.6 to $2.725 billion - that's 18% growth at the midpoint, which is actually below their 2025 growth rate of 22%.**JORDAN:** What I love about their expense breakdown, Alex, is the strategic focus. About half of that 18% growth - roughly 10 percentage points - is going into new and scaling businesses. We're talking about the Gold Card, banking, AI initiatives, tokenization, and continued international expansion. They're not just growing; they're diversifying their revenue streams.**ALEX:** Speaking of new initiatives, Robinhood Banking caught my attention. They rolled out to 25,000+ customers who brought in over $400 million in balances, and get this - over 50% enrolled in direct deposit. For a new financial product, that's incredible engagement.**JORDAN:** And the Gold Card business is scaling rapidly - up 5x in 2025 to 600,000 customers with over $10 billion in annualized spend. They're planning to more than double that to over a million customers this year. The 3% rewards seem to be resonating.**ALEX:** But Jordan, what really stood out to me was their AI strategy. Vlad mentioned they're seeing nine-figure savings from AI implementation in 2025 alone. Over 75% of customer support cases are now handled by AI, including complex cases that previously required licensed professionals.**JORDAN:** ThThis episode includes AI-generated content.