Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. reaffirms its "buy" rating on Robinhood (HOOD.US), optimistic about the upgrade of forecasting markets and AI advisors to enhance competitiveness.

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. participated in Robinhood's "YES/NO" product launch event on December 16, 2025 and expressed a gradually optimistic view on the company's competitiveness in the prediction market and platform trading convenience. They believe that the introduction of composite contracts has narrowed the gap with traditional online sports betting platforms, and the upgrade of Cortex has improved the customer experience. The bank reiterated a "buy" rating for Robinhood, with a target price of $167 based on a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.0 for the next four quarters (Q5-Q8). During the event, Robinhood announced two core plans: 1) multiple new and upcoming enhancements to the prediction market platform; 2) upgrades to their in-house AI advisor Robinhood Cortex. The newly launched products/features include: contracts exclusive to professional football players, pre-set professional football composite contracts (similar to parlay betting), plans to launch customized professional football composite contracts in January 2026, long-term expansion to multiple market/category composite contracts (such as sports + market + weather), and significant upgrades to Cortex providing more market dynamics analysis and simplifying the trading execution process. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. holds a gradually optimistic view on Robinhood's competitiveness in the prediction market and platform trading convenience. According to them, the newly launched composite contracts are an important step for Robinhood's prediction contracts to approach traditional online sports betting platforms, significantly enhancing its competitiveness. While there are doubts about whether various customized composite contracts can maintain adequate liquidity, the bank believes that acquiring/jointly operating prediction market trading brokers is a constructive measure to ensure liquidity. In addition, multi-product composite contracts are expected to stimulate new trading strategies that were previously unused. The upgrade of Cortex will streamline customers' trading and research processes, thereby improving the user experience. The bank also provided detailed information: Prediction market upgrade: The company has made multiple enhancements to the prediction market, including providing real-time odds, supporting desktop trading, adding limit order functionality, and improving product usability. Additionally, the company has added various sports prediction contracts, including player-exclusive contracts. The key upgrade, in the bank's opinion, is that Robinhood has introduced pre-set professional football composite contracts, which are similar to "parlays" in online sports betting. In January 2026, the company will launch customized professional football contracts, and in the long term, Robinhood plans to introduce customized contracts across multiple categories (such as sports + weather). Robinhood Cortex (AI advisor): Cortex is Robinhood's in-house financial advisor AI. The company announced that the latest upgrade to Cortex will be launched in the first quarter of 2026, integrating real-time financial data (including technical analysis, analyst reports, and personal investment portfolio data). When customers initiate trades through voice commands, Cortex will generate trade proposals automatically, allowing customers to confirm execution with just one click. Additionally, Cortex can be linked with the prediction market. Portfolio summary: Management announced that they will provide personalized insights to customers through Cortex, such as comparing portfolio performance to benchmarks, highlighting upcoming relevant events, and summarizing core driving factors of the portfolio.