Mizuho has maintained its outperform rating and $140 price target on Robinhood Markets after a survey of more than 600 active users found strong stated demand for single-stock perpetual futures, a product Robinhood has not said it will offer.
According to Mizuho’s survey, 94% of respondents said they would be likely or very likely to trade perpetual futures tied to individual stocks if Robinhood made them available. The result gives the brokerage another indication that its active-user base may be receptive to derivatives products beyond conventional stock and options trading, though it does not establish how many users would actually trade once real leverage, fees and liquidation risks are involved.
Mizuho analyst Dolev wrote in a Wednesday note that single-stock perpetual futures could support Robinhood’s growth outlook if the company ultimately launches them. The firm said the timing remained uncertain, describing a potential rollout as plausible over the medium term rather than imminent.
Survey points to incremental trading funds
The survey’s most commercially useful finding for Robinhood was not simply interest in the product. Mizuho said 84% of respondents expected to use mostly or exclusively new money for single-stock perpetual futures rather than redirecting capital already used for equity trading.
That response suggests the product could add activity without heavily cannibalizing Robinhood’s core stock-trading business. It remains a survey result, not evidence of future deposits or trading volume, but the distinction matters for a platform seeking to increase revenue per active customer while retaining its established equities business.
Perpetual futures, commonly called perps, are derivatives contracts with no expiry date. Traders can take long or short positions and typically use leverage, while periodic funding payments are designed to keep the contract price close to the underlying asset. The contracts have become a major part of crypto-market trading, where they are widely used for Bitcoin, Ethereum and other tokens.
Applying that structure to individual U.S. stocks would give retail users a way to make leveraged directional bets outside traditional margin accounts, listed options or fixed-expiry futures. It would also introduce risks that are familiar in crypto derivatives but less common in ordinary share trading, including forced liquidations when a position falls below required collateral levels.
Robinhood has announced U.S. perpetual futures, but not stock perps
Robinhood said on Sept. 29 that it planned to introduce perpetual futures trading for U.S. users in the coming months. The company paired that announcement with plans for 24/7 trading in select U.S. equities, outlining an effort to make more markets available beyond standard U.S. exchange hours.
The company has not announced single-stock perpetual futures. Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s senior vice president and general manager of crypto and international, recently said there were no plans for single-stock perps to announce.
Kerbrat also said Robinhood was continuing work connected to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s innovation exemption process for tokenized stocks. That regulatory discussion is separate from a confirmed single-stock perpetual futures product, but it places Robinhood’s ambitions in a wider effort to adapt stock-market access to around-the-clock, blockchain-linked and derivatives-based trading formats.
The distinction is material. A perpetual futures launch for U.S. customers could initially involve asset classes other than individual equities. Launching contracts tied directly to U.S. stocks would raise additional questions around market surveillance, leverage limits, reference pricing, customer disclosures and the relationship between derivatives trading and underlying securities markets.
Coinbase filing adds competitive pressure
Mizuho also pointed to Coinbase’s September filing to list perpetual futures linked to large-cap U.S. stocks as evidence that major crypto platforms are exploring the category. The filing signals competition may emerge around products that combine the familiar names of public equities with trading mechanics developed in cryptocurrency markets.
Robinhood’s position differs from that of a crypto-native venue. The company already has a large retail equities customer base, an established options business and a recognizable brand among self-directed traders. If it were to add single-stock perps, it could market the product to users already accustomed to trading shares and options within the same application.
That overlap could be an advantage, but it would also increase the need for clear risk controls. Perpetual futures can remain open indefinitely, making them different from options contracts that expire on a known date. Their funding mechanisms and liquidation rules can also be difficult for customers who have only traded cash equities to assess during volatile markets.
Demand does not settle the regulatory path
Mizuho’s survey provides a useful measure of user appetite, but it leaves the most consequential questions unresolved: which stocks could be included, whether leverage would be capped, how contracts would be regulated and when a launch could happen.
Robinhood’s own public position remains narrower than Mizuho’s survey scenario. The company has committed to bringing perpetual futures to U.S. users, while declining to announce products tied to individual stocks. Its work around tokenized equities and the SEC’s innovation exemption process further suggests that the regulatory framework will shape product design as much as user demand does.
For Robinhood, the appeal of single-stock perps lies in the possibility of adding a high-engagement trading product without drawing heavily from existing equity activity. The challenge will be turning that theoretical demand into a product that can operate within U.S. market rules and manage the heightened risks created by leveraged, non-expiring contracts.
Curious about perps like Robinhood’s? Learn how they work in our guide on perpetual futures today.
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