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Futu (FUTU) presents a lower-valuation alternative to Robinhood (HOOD), with stronger margin expansion, faster account growth, and a trailing P/E roughly half that of its U.S. peer.

Wall Street is bullish, but the stock has yet to attract retail speculation, at least in the United States.

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Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD) is everywhere right now, riding a wave of retail enthusiasm fueled by its meme-stock DNA, S&P 500 inclusion, and a high-profile pivot into prediction markets.

The crowd has already found Robinhood. The stock ran from $40.12 a year ago to a peak near $153.86 before pulling back sharply. Year to date, it is down 22.8%. That is the epitome of a hype cycle.

First, the valuation is stretched for what you're actually getting. Robinhood trades at a trailing P/E of 38x and a forward P/E of 31x, with a price-to-sales ratio of about 16x. That's a premium multiple for a business whose core commission-free model is increasingly commoditized. Rivals are aggressively raising capital, and BofA recently cut its price target from $154 to $147.

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Second, the business has a crypto problem. Crypto trading revenue fell 38% year-over-year in Q4 2025 to $221 million, while Robinhood app crypto volumes dropped 52%. This is the same quarter the company was being celebrated for its crypto credentials. Meanwhile, total operating expenses grew 38% year-over-year in Q4, and the provision for credit losses increased 89% year-over-year. The company also bought back $100 million of its own stock in Q4 at an average price of $122.31 per share, which in hindsight looks like unfortunate timing.

Third, the regulatory risk is real and underpriced. Payment for order flow remains under regulatory scrutiny, and the prediction markets pivot is unproven at scale. Robinhood is building a financial superapp in a market that hasn't decided it wants one from Robinhood specifically.

While Reddit obsesses over Robinhood, Futu Holdings (NASDAQ: FUTU) is growing at a fraction of the valuation. The company trades at a trailing P/E of just 16x, against a market cap of roughly $22.9 billion, much less than Robinhood's $78.6 billion. That's a significant valuation gap for a business generating comparable profitability metrics.

The fundamentals are superior. Futu's gross margin expanded to 88.7% in Q4 2025 from 82.5% a year earlier, while total costs declined 6.1% year-over-year despite strong revenue growth. That is operating leverage. Interest income grew 50.2% year-over-year, and other income grew 78.7% year-over-year in Q4, showing genuine revenue diversification beyond trading commissions.

The growth story is intact and underhyped. Futu added 954,000 net new funded accounts in 2025, bringing the total to 3.4 million, up 39.6% year-over-year. Over half of those accounts now come from outside Hong Kong, with Malaysia and Japan posting strong gains. The company is guiding to 800,000 net new funded accounts in 2026. Crypto penetration is, as management describes it, in very early innings across Hong Kong, Singapore, and the U.S., meaning the crypto upside Robinhood has already priced in and is now losing is still ahead for Futu.

Analyst consensus reflects this: 20 analysts rate Futu a Buy or Strong Buy, with zero Sell ratings and a consensus price target of $229.69 against a current price of $164.72. Reddit is quiet on Futu, suggesting the stock has yet to attract retail speculation, at least in the United States.

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