NEW YORK, Feb 17, 2026, 06:00 EST — Premarket
- Robinhood shares slip in early trade after a strong Friday close.
- Crypto moves are back in focus as Wall Street returns from a holiday break.
- Investors are watching for details on prediction markets and new products.
Robinhood Markets Inc (HOOD) shares were down 1.6% at $74.73 in premarket trading on Tuesday, after ending Friday up 6.8% at $75.97. Bitcoin fell about 1.3% to $67,849, keeping pressure on crypto-linked stocks before the opening bell. (Investing)
The early dip matters because Robinhood still trades like a gauge of retail risk appetite. Its revenue swings with customer activity in stocks, options and crypto, and the market has been quick to punish any sign that trading is cooling.
Tuesday is the first U.S. session after markets were closed on Monday for Presidents Day. Premarket trading runs before the 9:30 a.m. ET open and can look jumpier than the regular session because fewer shares change hands and bid-ask spreads widen. (Nasdaq)
Robinhood’s latest quarterly update left investors split. The company posted record fourth-quarter revenue of $1.28 billion but missed Wall Street estimates as crypto trading revenue came in light; finance chief Shiv Verma said active traders “were still really active,” but heavy crypto traders sat in cheaper pricing tiers that lowered the rebate rate Robinhood earns from trading partners for executing orders. (Reuters)
Another thing hanging over the stock is the company’s push into prediction markets — event contracts that pay out based on an outcome — which Robinhood has pitched as a new leg of growth. CEO Vlad Tenev called it the start of a “prediction market supercycle” and said the firm expects to outline new products at its “Take Flight” event on March 4. (Investopedia)
For traders, though, the next few hours may come down to the tape: crypto prices, volatility and whether risk assets catch a bid once regular trading opens. Robinhood’s premarket move can fade fast if volumes pick up.
But the setup cuts both ways. If bitcoin keeps sliding or volatility dries up, it can hit transaction-based revenue and customer engagement — and those are the levers that have driven sharp swings in the stock.
The next macro test comes Friday, when the Commerce Department’s BEA is due to publish the PCE price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge — a data point that can move rate expectations and spill into crypto and high-beta stocks. (Bureau of Economic Analysis)
