For those seeking a quick, commission-free way to invest in stocks, Robinhood Markets (HOOD) remains a compelling option for both casual traders and seasoned investors. The platform’s bold, disruptive approach has helped it attract a diverse mix of users in recent years, ranging from first-time participants to seasoned professionals. With retail engagement still flowing in, Robinhood appears well-positioned to sustain both its client base and revenue momentum.
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Demonstrating the broker’s rapid growth in both volume and client type, the average assets per funded customer surpassed $10,000 for the first time last quarter, doubling from the previous year, while total assets under custody exceeded $250 billion. At the same time, the broker has proven its profitability can hold firm even as it scales up, delivering an 81% incremental adjusted EBITDA margin and doubling EPS year-over-year. Along the way, the broker has outstripped the S&P’s performance by a factor of 10x.
Over the past 18 months, HOOD shareholders have enjoyed a notably rewarding run. It’s worth noting that brokers with strong retail exposure, like Robinhood, tend to post their best numbers during periods of heightened volatility and market dislocation. With 2025 already marked by political turbulence—and signs pointing to more ahead—that dynamic has provided fertile ground for the company’s results.
Performance Update Indicates Robinhood is On Target
In this week’s trading volume update, the multi-asset broker announced that it had achieved notional trading volumes of $206 billion in September, while options volume reached $187 million. Notably, Robinhood’s crypto trading volumes were approximately $8 billion, while its Bitstamp Exchange crypto volume reached $12 billion. The news means HOOD is on course to reach over $600 billion in quarterly equity volume in Q3.
Meanwhile, in its full-year report in July, the broker reported equity notional volumes surging 112% year-over-year and 25% quarter-over-quarter, reaching $517 billion in Q2. Options contracts also climbed steadily, up 32% since last year to $515 million.
In contrast, crypto notional volumes have waned after peaking at $71 billion in Q4 2024, sliding to $46.1 billion in Q1 2025 and $28.3 billion in Q2 2025. The decline followed Trump’s election victory in late 2024, when a surge of speculative enthusiasm—fueled by broad crypto mania and the launch of Trump’s coin—drove volumes to unsustainable highs before normalizing in subsequent quarters.
Balancing Retail Volatility With Institutional Stability
The divergence in trading activity across equities, options, and crypto on Robinhood is indicative of two things. First, Robinhood’s consistent ability to grow deposits and volumes, despite periods of high and low trading activity, strongly suggests the broker is shedding its retail stereotype. Among trading vendors, brokers who primarily service lightly funded individuals are considered “retail” and who cater to an entry-level audience. Such firms typically experience flashes of high deposits and trading volumes during times of high volatility, only to be followed by low volumes and withdrawals during flat trade.
However, larger, more reputable firms, also known as “institutional” players, tend to avoid such topsy-turvy outcomes through disciplined risk management, a grip of trading psychology, and dealing with more experienced market participants. In doing so, they classify themselves into a higher, more investable category. Robinhood could be evidence of a firm making such a transition. To get here, the company has implemented a series of technical and financial upgrades, as well as building relationships to establish counterparty agreements with banks. Although work still remains, chief among them is shedding the habit of referring to its clients as customers.
Secondly, recent results demonstrate Robinhood’s ability to monetize across its entire client base, including handling “institutional flow”—industry shorthand for trades executed with larger intermediaries. By competing in this arena, Robinhood is now operating alongside bigger players, a shift that strengthens the outlook for both existing shareholders and prospective investors. Looking ahead, the firm’s dual exposure offers balance: its institutional business should provide resilience during periods of low volatility, while its retail arm benefits when market turbulence returns.
Robinhood Levels Up From Sherwood to Wall Street
On the surface, Robinhood’s September trading update appears to be a routine market announcement. However, reading between the lines reveals a broker in the middle of a transformation—one that is steadily moving beyond its retail roots and carving out space among top-tier intermediaries. While market volatility will continue to dictate quarterly revenue/earnings updates, the broker’s evolution towards monetizing across all client types, coupled with expanding assets under custody and disciplined profitability, points to a more durable business model taking shape.
For investors, the narrative is no longer just about short-lived bursts of retail trading, but about Robinhood’s evolution into a platform with lasting strength. In the spirit of its namesake—who championed the cause of the common folk—Robinhood remains committed to giving everyday traders a professional-grade experience. Having outgrown its role as a market outsider, the firm is now stepping into the ranks of established players—balanced, scalable, and increasingly investable.