Share prices fell by nearly 40% this year, and Robinhood (HOOD.US) splurged $1.5 billion on a buyback to "rescue" itself.

Online retail brokerage Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD.US) announced a new stock buyback plan, authorizing the company to repurchase up to $1.5 billion of its stock as the share price continues to decline. After a more than doubling of its share price last year, the California-based company's stock has fallen by 39% since the beginning of 2026, providing an opportunity for the company to repurchase. Robinhood's Chief Financial Officer, Hief Wildermuth, stated in a press release on Tuesday, "This authorization reflects the confidence of our management team and board, believing that we have the ability to continue providing innovative products to our customers, create value for shareholders, and achieve long-term capital returns." Wildermuth took on the role of CFO in February this year, at a time when Robinhood's stock price was being dragged down by the cryptocurrency market crash. According to the statement, this buyback plan has no set expiration date and is expected to be executed over approximately three years. On February 11th, Robinhood Markets Inc. announced its fourth quarter financial results. Despite setting a record for overall revenue, the quarterly performance fell below Wall Street expectations due to a significant drop in cryptocurrency trading revenue, leading to a significant decline in the stock price in after-hours trading. However, the company's emerging predictive market business showed remarkable growth potential, becoming a bright spot in an otherwise lackluster financial report. In an interview, new CFO Hief Wildermuth discussed the company's pricing structure for cryptocurrency trading, stating, "For high-frequency trading customers, we use a lower tier fee structure." "The trading frequency of active traders is still high," he added, "but these customers are eligible for the lowest fees. As a result, our realized commission rate is slightly lower than market expectations." As traditional trading businesses face challenges, Robinhood's predictive market business emerged as the biggest growth surprise in the financial report. This business allows users to bet on the outcomes of various events, such as sports. Robinhood stated on Tuesday that over 12 billion event contracts were traded on their platform last year. The company's CEO mentioned on an analyst call that this was the fastest-growing business in the company's history.