Jacob Funds, a mutual fund company, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Fund started the year optimistically, expecting fiscal and monetary policies to boost an economy showing mixed signals. However, rapid AI developments and a Middle East conflict caused one of the worst quarters since COVID. Market turbulence led to widespread tech sell-offs, blurring lines between at-risk and AI-benefiting firms. AI prompts critical long-term questions for the tech industry, with emerging agentic AI promising a new wave of innovation similar to the late 1990s dot-com boom. Recent market weakness allowed the Fund to invest in promising beneficiaries at better prices, creating an opportunity to pivot into names with potential for rapid growth and profits as agentic AI moves from niche to broad adoption. Please review the Fund’s top five holdings to gain insights into their key selections for 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Jacob Funds highlighted Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) as a new addition to the Jacob Internet Fund. Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) is a US-based financial services company that provides a trading platform for stocks, exchange-traded funds, American depository receipts, options, gold, and cryptocurrencies. On April 9, 2026, Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) closed at $70.12 per share. One-month return of Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) was -4.46%, and its shares gained 60.53% over the past 52 weeks. Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) has a market capitalization of $63.13 billion.
Jacob Funds stated the following regarding Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“The Jacob Internet Fund added four new positions in the quarter, Circle Internet Group, CrowdStrike, Reddit and Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD). Robinhood is a consumer fintech platform offering commission-free trading alongside a growing suite of financial services, including crypto trading, banking, credit, and advisory products. Its business model historically has been from transaction-based revenues (notably payment for order flow), net interest income, and subscriptions. Recent initiatives around prediction markets and tokenization have enormous potential and strong early results that could make Robinhood into the broader financial “super-app” it has long wanted to be. This diversification and future growth potential gives Robinhood a much larger opportunity beyond its current addressable market that we believe will lead to higher earnings and a higher valuation multiple.”
