1 Stock to Consider for Long-Term Investment and 2 We Recommend Steering Clear Of
Volatility in the Market: Market volatility presents both opportunities and risks, potentially leading to significant gains or losses, which can unsettle even seasoned investors.
Lindblad Expeditions (LIND): The company faces challenges with a low operating margin and negative returns on capital, making it a risky investment at its current valuation of $12.37 per share.
Sealed Air Corporation (SEE): Declining sales and profitability issues suggest that SEE may need to invest in improvements, with its stock priced at $34.85 reflecting a valuation of 11.5x forward P/E.
Robinhood (HOOD): The platform shows strong growth with increased user spending and profitability, trading at $139.75 per share, indicating potential as a worthwhile investment.
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- User Growth Notable: Robinhood reported year-over-year growth in net deposits, Gold subscriptions, and total platform assets, indicating a sustained expansion of its user base, although revenue fell short of analysts' expectations, resulting in a sharp 53% drop in stock price.
- Diversified Revenue Streams: The company currently has 11 businesses generating over $100 million in annual revenue, with its credit card expected to bring this number to 12 this year, demonstrating Robinhood's strategy to diversify monetization of customer assets is gradually taking shape.
- New Product Launch: Robinhood Banking has started rolling out to Gold members, with 25,000 customers already depositing $400 million, and the introduction of banking services will provide interest and fee-related revenue potential, helping to mitigate the impact of trading volatility.
- Strong Asset Growth: Robinhood's total platform assets increased by 68% year-over-year to $324 billion, and with the launch of more products, it is expected to attract more assets and enhance customer retention, with significant potential still to be tapped in the future.
- Market Turmoil Impact: At the start of 2026, XRP's price has plummeted by 25%, currently trading at $1.35 with a market cap of $82 billion, reflecting diminished investor confidence in cryptocurrencies amid rising macroeconomic uncertainties.
- Liquidity Rotation Trend: As AI infrastructure gains traction, investors are increasingly shifting funds towards more promising tech sectors, leading to selling pressure on crypto assets like XRP, which adversely affects its market performance.
- Utility vs. Valuation Pressure: While Ripple has successfully integrated XRP into its payment network and challenged SWIFT, the focus on its real-world utility diminishes during economic uncertainty, increasing valuation pressure that could further impact its market share.
- Future Price Forecast: Analysts predict that XRP's price could drop to $1 or lower by the end of 2026, suggesting that investors should treat it as a utility or infrastructure investment rather than a speculative asset to navigate ongoing market volatility.
- Market Sell-Off Intensifies: At the beginning of 2026, the cryptocurrency market is experiencing severe selling pressure, with XRP's price dropping by 25% to a market cap of $82 billion, indicating a waning confidence among investors in crypto assets as they rotate into more stable opportunities.
- Liquidity Rotation Impact: As investment interest in the artificial intelligence sector rises, many investors are opting to shift funds from volatile cryptocurrencies to the multi-trillion dollar AI infrastructure supercycle, adversely affecting major crypto assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
- Macroeconomic Uncertainty: Rising geopolitical tensions and uncertainties surrounding Federal Reserve monetary policy are exacerbating the challenges for cryptocurrency investors, prompting a flight to safe-haven assets like gold, which further amplifies selling pressure in the crypto market.
- XRP Future Outlook: Analysts predict that if XRP's price continues to decline, it could fall to $1 or lower by the end of 2026, suggesting that investors should treat it as a utility or infrastructure investment rather than a speculative asset to navigate market volatility.
- Strong Stock Performance: Interactive Brokers saw its stock soar over 45% in 2025, reflecting robust performance in global asset trading, with a 15% year-to-date increase expected to continue into 2026.
- Robinhood's Rise: Robinhood doubled its revenue in Q3 2025, with transaction-based revenue up 129% year-over-year and net interest revenue increasing by 66%, showcasing its strong competitive position in the fintech sector.
- Expanding Customer Base: Robinhood added 2.5 million users in Q3, bringing its total funded customers to 26.8 million, while average revenue per user rose by 82% year-over-year, indicating dual drivers of user growth and revenue enhancement.
- Optimistic Market Outlook: With improving market sentiment, Robinhood attracts more investors through seamless trading and fractional shares, likely boosting customer activity and borrowing demand, creating a sustainable growth cycle.
- Crypto Revenue Plunge: Robinhood's cryptocurrency transaction revenue fell by 38% in Q4 2025 to $221 million, indicating a waning interest in speculative tokens, which could negatively impact overall transaction revenue and lead to further declines in performance.
- Trading Activity Volatility: While Robinhood's transaction revenue has risen due to active trading in stocks and options, its monthly active users dropped by 13% in Q4 2025, suggesting that retail investors are less willing to trade during market downturns, potentially pressuring future revenues.
- High Valuation Risks: With a price-to-sales ratio of 15.9, significantly above the average of 11.5 since its IPO in 2021, Robinhood's current valuation appears unreasonable given the decline in crypto revenue and the risks associated with options trading, which may lead to further stock price declines.
- Historical Trend Repetition: Robinhood's crypto transaction revenue previously plummeted by 75% in Q2 2022, and the current market conditions resemble that period; if this trend continues, the stock could face significant downward pressure, needing to drop 27% to align with its long-term average P/S ratio.
- Stock Price Decline: Robinhood's stock has plummeted over 53% since its peak last October, indicating a pessimistic market outlook, particularly as its cryptocurrency trading revenue declines, which could further erode investor confidence.
- Crypto Revenue Drop: In Q4 2025, Robinhood's cryptocurrency transaction revenue fell to $221 million, a 38% year-over-year decline, starkly contrasting with the 4,560% surge in Q2 2021, highlighting the volatility of the speculative market it relies on.
- Decreased User Engagement: The platform reported 13 million monthly active users in Q4 2025, down 13% from the previous year, suggesting waning interest that could exert ongoing pressure on future transaction revenues.
- High Valuation Risks: With a price-to-sales ratio of 15.9, significantly above its historical average of 11.5 since going public in 2021, Robinhood's stock is at risk of further declines, potentially needing a 27% drop to align with its long-term average valuation.









