Robinhood (HOOD 2.84%) has gone on a tear, with the stock surging 810% since the start of 2023. Its meteoric rise is eye-opening, considering the company's struggles just a few years back.
Robinhood's impressive turnaround has been led by CEO Vlad Tenev, who has been diligently working to reshape the company into a global trading platform tailored for the next generation of investors. With the stock's recent performance, investors may be wondering: Could buying shares today be a ticket to millionaire status? Below, I'll dive deeper and explore Robinhood's opportunity.
Robinhood's platform growth is staggering
A few years back, Robinhood was struggling. The broker, which aimed to "democratize finance for all," faced intense scrutiny from regulators and customers alike. Many were critical of its "payment for order flow" business model, and there were even fears that the SEC would crack down and take away its primary revenue source.
Fast forward to today, and Robinhood has kick-started growth, enhanced its platform, and is pursuing several different initiatives to drive growth. The company has had a laser focus on adding customers and building a solid asset base. Since the end of 2022, its total platform has grown from $62 billion to $298 billion, as of July 31.
Image source: Robinhood.
The company has done an excellent job of attracting customers to its platform, thanks to an appealing annual percentage yield (APY). One key to this is Robinhood Gold, its subscription service, which charges $5 per month or $50 per year.
This subscription service serves two purposes for Robinhood. For one, it provides the company with a steady stream of income, while customers get higher yields on their uninvested cash. Second, users who subscribe to Robinhood Gold have more assets and engage with the platform more frequently than non-subscribers.
Robinhood's push into alternative financial markets
The company has attracted investors with its appealing APY. However, to continue growing, Robinhood is pursuing other avenues to continue to drive growth.
For one, it has upgraded its trading platform with Robinhood Legend, its browser-based platform. The company aims to attract active traders with its upgraded platform. It has also expanded its tradable products, including index options and futures.
Robinhood is also providing customers with event-based contracts, another tradable product that aligns with the growing trend of betting markets. These event contracts, also known as prediction markets, allow users to wager on various outcomes, ranging from sports events to political elections.
During the company's earnings call in February, CEO Vlad Tenev expressed his belief in the future of prediction markets, stating:
I think prediction markets are the future. I think they're the future, not just as an active trading asset, but also news and information. And Robinhood's going to be right there leading the way.
Image source: Getty Images.
The company is also aggressively pursuing tokenization. This practice involves transforming traditional financial assets, such as equities and private investments, onto blockchain technology to increase efficiency and liquidity.
One of the recent announcements that stirred up discussion was its tokenization of OpenAI and SpaceX for European users, neither of which is publicly traded. The tokens track the private market valuations of these companies. "These tokens give retail investors indirect exposure to private markets, opening up access, and are enabled by Robinhood's ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle," a Robinhood spokesperson said.
Is Robinhood a millionaire-maker stock?
Robinhood has done an excellent job of growing its platform and expanding its offerings for customers. The company turned in a positive GAAP earnings per share (EPS) of $0.95 last year, and analysts project EPS of $1.60 this year.
With its recent surge, the stock has become expensive, priced at 69 times this year's projected earnings. Given its lofty valuation, it's more vulnerable to significant price swings, so investors may want to wait for a chance to enter at a lower price.
Can buying Robinhood make you a millionaire? It's possible, with enough capital and time, that it could.
I like its growth initiatives, and think it has done a great job of diversifying into different avenues where there are trends and that can drive growth. With that said, if you're looking to build sustainable wealth, you're best bet is to invest with a long-term horizon, diversify, and contribute to your investment account regularly. And Robinhood could be a small part of this.
