A week after the leverage collapse in Seoul wiped out hundreds of thousands of margined accounts and reminded everyone what happens when appetite meets leverage, comes the report that directly measures the American retail investor's appetite.
And the appetite, it turns out, is at an all-time high.
What Was Reported
| Metric | Result | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Net revenue | $1.31 billion (record) | +32% |
| Net income | $573 million | +48% |
| Diluted EPS | $0.62 | +48% |
| Adjusted EBITDA | $741 million | +35% |
And a footnote that must be flagged: net income includes a $129 million (14 cents per share) one-time gain from the deconsolidation of Robinhood Ventures Fund I. Excluding it, operating EPS is roughly $0.48 - still healthy growth, but not 48%.
Where the Revenue Comes From - and the Interesting Split
Transaction revenue surged 44% to $776 million, but the composition tells a story:
| Revenue line | Amount | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Options | $342 million | +29% |
| Event contracts | $156 million | more than 10x |
| Equities | $129 million | +95% |
| Crypto | $100 million | -38% |
Alongside trading: net interest revenue of $389 million (+9%), and other revenue of $143 million (+54%) - driven by Gold subscriptions and Trump Account service revenue.
Three phenomena in that table deserve unpacking:
First - equities nearly doubled. Total trading volumes surged 85% to a record $956 billion. The retail investor has not merely returned - they are trading at an unseen pace.
Second - event contracts. $156 million of revenue, more than ten times last year, from an instrument where you bet on a binary outcome - an election, a rate decision, a game result. It is the fastest-growing category on the platform, and the closest in nature to a wager. Growth like that says something about the marginal customer's mode of activity.
And third - crypto plunged 38%. Inside a platform where everything else is at a record, digital assets are contracting. The appetite has not disappeared - it has migrated from crypto to options, event contracts and equities.
The Platform Itself
| Metric | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Platform assets | $369 billion | +32% |
| Net deposits in the quarter | $21.7 billion | 28% annualized |
| Funded customers | 28.4 million | +7% |
| Gold subscribers | 4.8 million (record) | - |
And the structural figure: the company now has 13 business lines running above $100 million in annualized revenue - including Legend and the credit card, which joined recently. The meme-stock broker of 2021 has become a financial supermarket.
Expenses rose 33% to $734 million - marketing, growth investment, one-time restructuring charges from the June headcount reduction, and the costs around Trump Accounts.
The Context: What This Says About the Retail Investor
The cautious reading of the same numbers
A report like this can be read two ways. The positive reading: the retail investor is engaged, depositing at a record pace, diversifying activity, and paying for services (Gold at a record). And the cautious reading: volumes at a record, options at a record, event contracts up tenfold - these are the characteristics of a market in very high risk appetite. Exactly a week ago Seoul showed what the other side of that appetite looks like: 1.2 million margin calls, 360,000 accounts liquidated. The broker profits in both directions - from rallies and from crashes. The customer does not. Robinhood's revenue measures activity, not the wisdom of the activity.
The Bull Thesis
Whoever reads it positively will point to the breadth: records in revenue, volumes, deposits and subscriptions - and genuine diversification, with 13 business lines above $100 million. The deposits ($21.7 billion in a quarter) are the durable figure - money that enters the platform stays there even when trading calms.
The Bear Thesis
Whoever reads it critically will recall that trading revenue is cyclical by nature - it reflects appetite, and appetite reverses. Second, the growing dependence on speculative categories - event contracts and options - is regulatory and reputational exposure. And third, 14 cents of the profit is one-time, and crypto - once a central engine - is contracting.
The debate in one line
The bulls see records on every metric, $21.7 billion of quarterly deposits, diversification into 13 business lines and growing subscription engines. The bears see revenue dependent on a risk appetite at a cyclical peak, growth leaning on the most speculative categories, and profit inflated by a one-time item. Both sides are reading the same report.
My Angle
A personal opinion of Ilan Abramov - not advice, not a recommendation
What catches me in this report is its timing against Seoul.
A week ago we wrote about 360,000 margined accounts liquidated in Korea, and about the difference between a mistake in stock selection and a mistake in position size. And here is a report showing the American side of the same coin: volumes at a record, options at a record, and a new category - event contracts - growing tenfold in a year.
I do not read this as a warning about Robinhood - its business is excellent. The broker earns on activity, not on direction. I read it as a sentiment gauge: when event-contract revenue grows tenfold, the marginal investor is in a wagering mood. That is a datum about the market, not the company.
And what interests me long term is actually the deposits. $21.7 billion in a quarter, a 28% annualized rate. Trading is cyclical revenue; assets are structural revenue. Every dollar deposited today will generate interest, subscriptions and lending even when the appetite calms.
And what I will follow: the ratio of trading to non-trading revenue. Right now 59% against 41%. The larger the non-trading share grows, the less the company depends on mood - and that is what will decide whether it is a cyclical broker or a financial platform.
Summary
Robinhood reported a record quarter: revenue of $1.31 billion (+32%), EPS of $0.62 (+48%, roughly $0.48 excluding a one-time item), trading volumes of $956 billion (+85%) and record deposits of $21.7 billion. Equities surged 95%, event contracts more than tenfold - and crypto plunged 38%.
And beyond the company: a week after Seoul, this is the most direct gauge of retail risk appetite - and it is at a peak. The question for the investor is not whether Robinhood profits from that appetite - it does - but what happens to trading revenue the day the appetite turns, and how much of the business is already built on revenue that does not depend on it.
Sources: Robinhood Markets' official results announcement for the second quarter of 2026 (July 29, 2026), as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 8-K, including revenue and its breakdown, net income and the one-time gain from the Ventures fund deconsolidation, trading volumes, platform assets, deposits, customers and subscribers, and expenses; CEO Vlad Tenev's and CFO Shiv Verma's remarks from the release. Data accurate as of the time of writing. The chart is shown in real time via TradingView. Nothing herein constitutes a forecast, recommendation or advice - see the full disclaimer at the bottom of the page.