Cathie Wood Bets Big On Amazon Robinhood And Coinbase

Cathie Wood, the high-profile founder and CEO of Ark Invest, made headlines on the final trading day of January 2026 with a bold move: she snapped up shares of Amazon, Robinhood Markets, and Coinbase, even as all three stocks dipped amid a broader market and cryptocurrency downturn. Her purchases, coming just days before Amazon’s crucial quarterly earnings and against a backdrop of volatile crypto prices, have sparked renewed debate among investors and analysts about the prospects for these companies and the wider tech and finance sectors.

Amazon, the e-commerce and cloud computing giant, is set to report its fourth-quarter results on Thursday, February 6, 2026. The company’s own guidance for the final three months of 2025 is ambitious: net sales are expected to land between $206 billion and $213 billion—a 10% to 13% increase from the previous year, according to The Motley Fool. Operating profit is forecasted to range from $21 billion to $26 billion, which could mean anything from a slight 1% decline to a robust 23% jump year-over-year. While Amazon doesn’t provide direct bottom-line guidance, analysts anticipate a modest 5% rise in earnings per share, reaching $1.95 for the quarter.

Despite these respectable figures, Amazon’s top-line growth has slowed in recent years. The company posted annual net sales growth of 9%, 12%, and 11% over the past three years—its weakest stretch in decades. Yet, investors have largely shrugged off this deceleration, thanks in large part to the runaway success of Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS, Amazon’s cloud-hosting division, is growing much faster than the company’s core retail business and boasts high margins. In the third quarter of 2025, AWS made up just 22% of Amazon’s net sales but contributed a staggering two-thirds of its net operating income.

Amazon’s stock performance has been subdued, up just 2% over the past year—a figure that lags the broader market. But with the company’s earnings report looming, Cathie Wood’s decision to add to her position suggests she’s betting on a strong showing. As The Motley Fool points out, "Wood’s addition to her position in Amazon just four days before a telltale quarterly update should mean she’s confident that Amazon will come through with a strong performance later this week."

Turning to Robinhood Markets, the stock and crypto trading platform has also been in the spotlight—though for different reasons. Shares of Robinhood fell 5.3% on Friday, January 31, 2026, and opened at $95.87 on Monday, February 2, 2026, according to MarketBeat. The company’s 12-month trading range is wide, with a low of $29.66 and a high of $153.86. Despite recent volatility, Robinhood has attracted significant institutional interest. Atlatl Advisers LLC, for instance, purchased 14,402 shares in the third quarter of 2025, valued at approximately $2,062,000—making Robinhood its 29th largest holding. WCM Investment Management LLC dramatically increased its stake by 3,615.7% in the second quarter, now owning over 11.5 million shares worth more than $1 billion. Norges Bank, Paradigm Operations LP, Jennison Associates LLC, and Invesco Ltd. also made substantial investments in Robinhood throughout 2025.

Insider activity has been notable as well. CEO Vladimir Tenev sold 375,000 shares on January 5, 2026, at an average price of $121.63, for a total of $45,611,250. Director Baiju Bhatt sold 1.33 million shares in November 2025, netting $170,865,100. Over the past 90 days, insiders have sold nearly 2.85 million shares worth more than $354 million, yet insiders still own nearly 20% of the company.

Robinhood continues to diversify its business model in response to shifting market conditions. Originally known for commission-free stock trading, the company now derives 78% of its transaction-based revenue from options and crypto trading. In an effort to weather the ongoing "crypto winter"—Bitcoin has plummeted 40% since its October 2025 peak and dropped another 10% by February 1, 2026—Robinhood has expanded into futures, predictive markets, tax filings, and estate planning. The company reported strong third-quarter results in November 2025, with $0.61 earnings per share (beating estimates by $0.20), a net margin of 52.19%, return on equity of 21.74%, and revenue of $1.27 billion—a 100% increase from the previous year. Analysts on MarketBeat currently rate Robinhood as a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $136.62, reflecting cautious optimism amid market turbulence.

Coinbase, the leading U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, rounds out the trio of Cathie Wood’s latest buys. Like Robinhood, Coinbase has been battered by the downturn in crypto markets. Its stock has been cut in half since Bitcoin’s October high, and the company is preparing to report its own fourth-quarter results after the market closes on Thursday, February 13, 2026. Analysts are bracing for a tough quarter, forecasting a dramatic 78% plunge in earnings per share and an 18% decline in revenue compared to the prior year.

Unlike Robinhood, which has diversified its offerings, Coinbase remains largely tied to the fate of cryptocurrencies. This laser focus means it stands to benefit handsomely if and when digital currencies recover, but it also leaves the company exposed during downturns. As The Motley Fool observes, "Coinbase doesn’t have as many growth levers as Robinhood does to pivot from crypto when it’s weak, but that also means it’s better positioned when there is a sustainable, substantial recovery in Bitcoin and smaller digital currencies."

So, what’s the broader takeaway from Cathie Wood’s aggressive buying spree? On the one hand, her moves signal conviction in the long-term prospects of these tech and finance heavyweights, even as they face significant near-term headwinds. On the other, the market’s reaction suggests a wait-and-see attitude, especially with critical earnings reports just around the corner and the crypto sector mired in uncertainty.

Institutional investors, meanwhile, continue to play a major role in shaping the fortunes of Robinhood and its peers. Hedge funds and other large players own more than 93% of Robinhood’s stock, underscoring the intense competition and high stakes in the modern financial services arena. Analyst sentiment is divided but leans positive, with Robinhood earning a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating and Amazon expected to deliver steady—if unspectacular—growth. Coinbase, for its part, remains a high-risk, high-reward play, tethered to the unpredictable tides of the crypto market.

As the dust settles from January’s trading and investors brace for a wave of earnings reports, all eyes will be on Amazon, Robinhood, and Coinbase to see whether they can defy the skeptics and deliver results that justify Cathie Wood’s bold bets. In the ever-shifting landscape of tech and finance, conviction and timing are everything—and the next few weeks may prove decisive for these market movers.