Robinhood (HOOD) stock rallied after the SEC scrapped the $25,000 pattern day trader rule, removing a major barrier to retail trading and boosting its platform advantage.
• The company reported full-year 2025 revenue of $4.47B with Gold subscribers growing 58% year over year to 4.2 million, while options revenue hit $314M in Q4, up 41%.
• Meanwhile, Charles Schwab (SCHW) launched crypto trading at 1% per transaction to compete with Robinhood’s crypto offerings.
• The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks. Get them here FREE.
Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD) stock is up 6% in Friday morning trading, with shares climbing to $92 as of the latest data. That's a meaningful intraday surge for a stock that's been under pressure, sitting 18% below its year-opening price of $113.10. Today's move is drawing serious attention from retail investors and traders alike.
The catalyst is hard to ignore. The SEC recently decided to scrap the pattern day trader equity rule, which previously restricted retail investors who made more than three day trades in a five-day period without maintaining a minimum account balance of $25,000. That's a structural tailwind for Robinhood's entire business model, and the market is pricing it in fast.
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Retail sentiment is running hot. A post titled "Robinhood stock jumps as SEC scraps $25K pattern day trader rule" on WallStreetBets peaked at 543 upvotes and 84 comments by Thursday morning, confirming that everyday investors understand exactly what this rule change means for platforms like Robinhood.
The removal of the pattern day trader rule dramatically lowers barriers to active trading for everyday investors, and Robinhood is the clearest beneficiary. Its entire brand is built around democratizing finance, and a rule that locked out anyone without $25,000 in their account was a direct obstacle to that mission.
The numbers backing Robinhood's business are already strong heading into this regulatory shift. Full-year 2025 revenue hit a record $4.47 billion, and Gold subscribers grew 58% year over year to 4.2 million. The prediction markets currently assign a 99% probability that Gold subscribers will exceed 4.2 million in Q1, with a 76% probability of surpassing 4.4 million.
Robinhood's options segment is particularly relevant here. Options revenue reached $314 million in Q4 2025, up 41% year over year. More active retail traders, no longer gated by a $25,000 minimum, means more options volume flowing through Robinhood's platform.