Meme Stock Traders Are Growing Up
Almost five years after the GameStop frenzy, retail traders are making their presence felt more widely in US markets.
Photographer: NurPhoto/NurPhotoRetail investors used to be the plankton of financial markets. In 2025, they’re becoming more like the whale. What once looked like a blip as they began to exert themselves during the meme-stock frenzy almost five years ago has the power today to shape markets. “Retail is more of a force in this space,” said Steven Quirk, chief brokerage officer of Robinhood Markets Inc. at an investor conference this month. “I do not see that changing.”
Most directly, retail investors now account for a considerable share of stock market activity. Last quarter, they made up 20.9% of US equity trading volume, according to Bloomberg Intelligence, up from 18.5% in the same period last year. While still below the institutional buyside’s 30.2%, the gap is closing.