Robinhood to Join S&P 500 After Crypto-Fueled Turnaround

Robinhood Markets will be added to the S&P 500 index on Sept. 22, the company said, joining mobile technology platform AppLovin and construction firm Emcor Group in the benchmark's lineup. The move follows a sustained rally in Robinhood's shares and a return to profitability driven in part by increased customer activity in cryptocurrencies.

The stock has been one of the year's top performers for the online broker, trading above $100 per share after roughly tripling in 2025 and following a similar gain in 2024. Robinhood reported a loss of $0.61 per share in 2023 but swung to a profit of $1.56 per share in 2024. Analysts on Wall Street expect the company to finish 2025 with earnings of about $1.64 per share.

Robinhood's resurgence comes after an uneven start as a public company. The firm went public in 2021 with an IPO price of $38 and closed below that level on its first trading day. Shares remained volatile in the following years and finished 2023 near $12.74 per share before recovering. Industry observers point to rising retail interest in cryptocurrency, together with a regulatory environment that has been relatively permissive toward digital assets, as factors supporting higher trading volumes and revenue.

Regulatory developments have also eased near-term uncertainty. Earlier this year the Securities and Exchange Commission closed an investigation into whether Robinhood failed to register certain crypto assets on its platform as securities and declined to pursue enforcement action. The company was also a central player in the 2021 ‘‘meme stock’’ episode, when it temporarily restricted trading of heavily shorted names such as GameStop and AMC Entertainment amid intense retail trading and market volatility.

The S&P 500 inclusion typically leads index-tracking funds to add the stock, increasing institutional demand, although the exact market impact can vary. Robinhood shares jumped 13.8% in morning trading on the announcement. AppLovin shares rose 11.5%.

Robinhood's business model centers on providing commission-free trading in stocks, options and cryptocurrencies to retail investors through its mobile platform. The company has expanded its product offerings and marketing to grow its user base and engagement, while highlighting a multiyear effort to move toward sustained profitability.

The addition to the S&P 500 marks a notable milestone for a company that struggled to gain footing after its IPO and weathered high-profile episodes that drew regulatory and public scrutiny. Inclusion in the index places Robinhood among the largest publicly traded U.S. companies by market value and could influence the firm's investor mix and visibility in the months ahead.

AppLovin and Emcor Group will join the S&P 500 on the same date, reflecting routine periodic adjustments the index provider makes to maintain the benchmark's representation of the U.S. large-cap market. Market participants and investors will watch trading in the run-up to Sept. 22 for further signs of investor appetite for the newly added names.