itstargetnews
Robinhood Shares fell after the company released its fourth-quarter earnings, as investors weighed strong headline results against lingering questions about the company. increasing emphasis on prediction markets and its plan to funnel users into longer term investment products.
The company reported RECORDS fourth quarter earnings of $1.28 billion, up 27% year over year, and full year revenue of $4.5 billion, a 52% increase from 2024. Net income for the quarter reached $605 million, or $0.66 per diluted share, while funded customers increased 7% year over year to 27 million. Despite the gains, the stock declined as attention shifted to Robinhood’s changing business mix and longer-term strategy.
On the earnings call, CEO Vlad Tenev pointed to prediction markets as the company’s fastest-growing product. “In Q4, the numbers of the prediction market doubled, more than doubled again, with more than 12 billion contracts sold in 2025, which is the first full year of the prediction markets,” he said, adding that customers have already sold more than 4 billion contracts as early as 2026.
Tenev frames the opportunity in ambitious terms. “I think we’re just at the beginning of a super cycle in the prediction market that could drive trillions in annual volume over time,” he said, citing future global sporting events, expansion beyond sports, and the launch of Rothera, Robinhood’s joint venture with Susquehanna International Group, as key drivers.
Robinhood’s prediction markets offering is getting unwanted attention
But a separate part of the call quickly drew attention and criticism online. While discussing customer acquisition, Tenev said that Robinhood has seen “more and more people coming to Robinhood… He added that once users enter through the prediction markets, the company aims to “quickly sell you on, you know, things like retirement or other products.”
That framing sparked sharp reactions on social media. “That’s why you get customers as a gambling app now, and you sell IRAs to people who drop $100 on the Patriots,” wrote one X user.
so you are essentially landing customers as a gambling app now. and you’re cross-selling IRAs to people who throw $100s at the Patriots. very nice $HOOD pic.twitter.com/WCCF7FPXOI
– Hunter SPX Thompson
(@CoorsLightCEO) February 10, 2026
Another user quipped, “The bull case for HOOD is that you… check the transcript… cross-sell market prediction of gamblers in retirement accounts?”
The push likely indicates that the reliance on event-driven trading is undermining Robinhood’s pitch as a long-term investment platform. While the company emphasizes that prediction markets will expand beyond sports, the category is closely associated with short-term, high-frequency speculation.
Tenev pushed back against the idea that the business is too sports-centric. He noted that non-sports contracts are already gaining traction, pointing to a government shutdown contract that brought in large numbers after the NFL season. Over time, he argues, prediction markets will expand as more contracts are added and integrated more deeply into the app.
Chief Financial Officer Shiv Verma struck a similar tone, saying the prediction markets are diversifying into sports and non-sports categories and becoming more economically attractive as Robinhood gains greater control over pricing and monetization through Rothera.
However, the stock’s reaction suggests that investors remain unconvinced that the rapid growth of the prediction markets will translate into stable, high-quality income or that users captured by speculative contracts will meaningfully adopt retirement and wealth-enhancing products.
Featured image: Robinhood
The post Robinhood stock fell despite record Q4 earnings amid questions about the prediction markets first appeared in ReadWrite.
