Bloomberg Talks Podcast Summary

Episode: Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev Talks 3Q Earnings, Prediction Markets
Date: November 6, 2025
Host: Ed Ludlow (Bloomberg Tech Co-Anchor)
Guest: Vlad Tenev (CEO, Robinhood)

Overview

This episode centers on Robinhood’s impressive third-quarter earnings, drilling down on the company’s growth drivers, evolving product strategy, and growing footprint in prediction markets. CEO Vlad Tenev discusses Robinhood’s broadening appeal across generations, product innovation, and the roadmap to diversify revenue between retail, institutional, and global markets.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Strong Q3 Performance and October Momentum

• Record Financials: Robinhood posted a substantial profit increase, with net income up 271% to $556 million, underpinned by record net deposits and trading revenues.
• Sustained Engagement: Tenev attributes performance to what he calls the “Robinhood flywheel”—more users, deeper engagement, more premium subscriptions (Gold), and increasing trading volumes.

  “October has been a continued strong month…record net deposits, record trading revenues. Revenues across the board. Prediction markets have also been on fire.”
  — Vlad Tenev (01:27)

2. Market Trends and Robinhood’s Strategic Positioning

• Market Share Focus: While acknowledging that trading volumes fluctuate, Tenev emphasizes Robinhood’s growing market share and asset base.

  “We track our market share, which has been growing pretty much across the board, across every asset. We’re now up to a third of a trillion in assets held at Robinhood.”
  — Vlad Tenev (03:24)

• Secular Tailwinds: He cites generational wealth transfer and the tech-savvy nature of younger investors as key growth factors, positioning Robinhood at the center of this shift.
• Platform for the Next Generation: Robinhood is targeting digitally native individuals who prioritize user experience and cost, but Tenev notes the platform transcends age—appealing even to users in their 70s and 80s.

3. Growth in Prediction Markets

• Expanding Offerings: The prediction markets, especially in sports and event-based contracts, have seen explosive growth—October alone eclipsed the prior quarter’s total activity.

  “Prediction markets…completes the time at which Robinhood customers can continue to engage with the platform…Robinhood is becoming increasingly a 24/7 platform.”
  — Vlad Tenev (04:30)

• 24/7 Engagement: Introduction of crypto and prediction markets has moved Robinhood towards around-the-clock engagement, not just limited to regular equities market hours.

4. The Financial Super App Vision

• Comprehensive Product Depth & Velocity: Tenev touts the breadth and “velocity” of product launches, from banking and credit cards to retirement accounts and digital advising.

  “Nobody has our combination of product depth and product velocity…We still have a huge amount left to build.”
  — Vlad Tenev (06:15)

• Innovative Fee Structure: Robinhood Strategies (digital advisor) inverts traditional fee models to reward customers for growing their assets on the platform—no management fee above $100,000.

5. Targeting Families and Multi-Generational Users

• Family-Focused Super App: Robinhood sees itself as a platform for entire families, aiming to create products recognized by multiple generations.

6. Roadmap to Institutional and International Growth

• 10-Year Plan: Robinhood aims for over half of its revenue to eventually come from institutions and international markets.
• Retail-Led Innovation Drives Institutional Interest: Despite this ambition, Tenev asserts that expanding and perfecting retail offerings is foundational because institutions increasingly want the same features—user experience, 24/5 access, competitive rates.

  “Pretty much nobody has a unified offering between crypto and traditional assets, which I think is being increasingly valuable.”
  — Vlad Tenev (08:15)

• Early Progress: The acquisition of Bitstamp marked Robinhood’s 10th business line to surpass $100 million in annualized revenue; prediction markets recently became the 11th.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Generational Wealth Transfer:
  “Hundreds north of 100 trillion of assets and wealth is going to be handed down from older generations to younger generations…Robinhood is really at the center.”
  — Vlad Tenev (03:07)

• On Platform Relevance:
  “If you’re using any other platform, I feel like you should be at a disadvantage.”
  — Vlad Tenev (05:27)

• On Fee Innovation:
  “Robinhood Strategies inverts that model and once you get to 100,000 managed, everything above that has no management fee. So the incentive is actually to grow with us.”
  — Vlad Tenev (06:54)

• On Institutional Offering:
  “The things that we’re offering to retail…are things that institutional wants as well.”
  — Vlad Tenev (08:07)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |-------------------------------------|:-------------:| | Robinhood’s Q3 performance recap | 00:29–01:27 | | Trends driving October results | 01:27–02:20 | | Market share and generational shift | 02:20–04:11 | | Prediction markets explodes in Oct. | 04:11–06:00 | | Financial super app/product depth | 06:00–07:30 | | Roadmap to institutional/international | 07:30–09:04 |

Takeaways

• Robinhood is experiencing broad-based growth in users and product lines, with a keen focus on continuing retail innovation as a pathway to institutional and global expansion.
• Its leadership sees major opportunity in the coming generational wealth transfer and the need for modern, unified digital financial services.
• Prediction markets and 24/7 engagement are critical new frontiers.
• By inverting fee structures and emphasizing digital experience, Robinhood aims to make itself essential for both individuals and institutions.

This episode offers candid insight into how Robinhood views its role at the heart of changing financial markets and generational wealth dynamics.