Robinhood Is Making a Comeback. Should You Buy the Stock?

Shares of Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD) were down by more than 40% year to date at one point but have rapidly closed the gap. The stock has surged by more than 80% from its 52-week low, and it's certainly no fluke. Fundamentals continue to improve, and a major headwind that has plagued Robinhood this year will have a limited impact in future years.

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Understanding crypto's role in Robinhood's earnings

Robinhood's 15% year-over-year revenue growth in the first quarter was disappointing for investors who have come to know the fintech company. The same business grew by 50% year over year in the 2025 first quarter and was up by another 40% a year earlier.

Those growth rates all boil down to crypto transaction revenue. This part of the business more than tripled in 2024 and doubled in 2025, when comparing the respective first quarters of those years. In the first quarter of this year, that same part of the business was down by 47% year over year.

That backdrop makes the 15% growth rate look more impressive since Robinhood is gradually becoming less reliant on crypto. Fellow fintech Coinbase Global is practically an all-in crypto play, and that has resulted in sizable year-over-year revenue drops in recent quarters. Coinbase saw its overall revenue tumble by more than 30% year over year in the first quarter.

Robinhood was prepared for the crypto crash

Coinbase has been scrambling to diversify beyond crypto. It offered stock trading at the end of 2025 and opened up prediction markets on its platform earlier this year. Robinhood was well ahead of the curve on this.

Robinhood became famous due to its zero-commission stock trading that revolutionized the entire brokerage industry. This backstory cemented it as a company that isn't just into crypto, while it will be harder for Coinbase to break out of that mold.

Prediction markets are still an area of strength for Robinhood. That part of the business was the key contributor to "other transaction revenue," which more than quadrupled year over year. It now makes up more than 10% of total sales. Options revenue inched up by 8% year over year and made up more than one-quarter of total sales. Robinhood also generates more than one-third of its revenue from margin interest, and that part of the business grew by 24% year over year.

The fintech has several high-growth products that minimize the impact of fewer crypto trades. A crypto bull market will send Robinhood higher, but it's not necessary. Crypto barely made up 10% of the company's total revenue, and the remaining parts of the business are growing.

Crypto's reduced impact on Robinhood's financials, plus the company's success in multiple verticals, will result in easy year-over-year comparables in 2027. While Robinhood reported 15% year-over-year revenue growth in the recent first quarter, it's likely to deliver a much higher rate in the same period in 2027. That's part of the reason investors are loading up on the stock and betting on a comeback.

Marc Guberti has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Coinbase Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.