Opendoor Names New CEO, Goes Into "Founder Mode." Can the Stock's Meteoric Run Keep Going?

Key Points

• A dramatic leadership reset has energized the stock. But investors still need proof in the numbers.

• Shares spiked after Opendoor tapped Shopify's former COO as CEO and brought both founders back to the board.

• Recent results showed revenue improvement and a brief return to adjusted EBITDA profitability, but near-term guidance isn't as upbeat.

• 10 stocks we like better than Opendoor Technologies ›

Opendoor Technologies (NASDAQ: OPEN), the e-commerce platform for buying and selling homes, just staged one of the market's loudest leadership resets. The company named Kaz Nejatian, formerly Shopify's chief operating officer, as CEO and said it is going into "founder mode" as co-founders Keith Rabois and Eric Wu rejoined the board. The announcement ignited another sharp move higher in the shares, adding to a volatile run this year as retail enthusiasm and leadership headlines collide with a tougher housing backdrop. The stock's rise has been meteoric. As of this writing, shares are up nearly 500% year to date.

Opendoor is best known for bringing instant, data-driven cash offers to homeowners and then reselling those homes. The question now is whether a back-to-basics, founder-led posture, coupled with a product-oriented leader, can bend the financial curve in the face of sluggish transaction volumes and margin pressure. That is where the investment case will be won or lost.

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Image source: Getty Images.

A founder-led leadership reset

The company's September announcement did two things for Opendoor. It installed Nejatian, a product and operations executive with deep commerce experience, and it put the original architects back in the boardroom. Opendoor explicitly said it was going into "founder mode," with Rabois taking the chairman role alongside Wu. The goal? Increase focus, move faster, and reprioritize on the core promise of turning a complicated home sale into a simple, software-driven experience.

There are early hints about how aggressive change could be. Rabois has argued publicly that Opendoor is overstaffed and needs sharper operating discipline. Separately, the company's disclosures indicate Nejatian's pay is overwhelmingly equity-linked, aligning his upside with shareholders if the turnaround sticks. None of this, on its own, fixes the model. But it does frame the next chapter as a founder-influenced, product-first push rather than a status-quo continuation.

Recent results show progress and pressure

Investors don't have to guess about the near term. In the second quarter of 2025, Opendoor delivered $1.6 billion in revenue, up modestly year over year, and achieved $23 million in adjusted EBITDA -- its first positive adjusted EBITDA quarter since 2022. The company sold 4,299 homes in the period. Management highlighted that the housing market has deteriorated, with persistently high mortgage rates continuing to suppress buyer demand and drive more listings off the market.

Guidance then turned the spotlight back to reality. For the third quarter, Opendoor guided revenue down to between $800 million and $875 million and projected adjusted EBITDA back in negative territory. Management also called out a mix headwind from older, lower-margin homes given Opendoor's low acquisition volumes, with contribution profit expected to compress from the second quarter level. That combination -- a momentary profitability milestone followed by a weaker outlook -- is why this remains a numbers story, not just a leadership one.

What has to go right

After the leadership news, the stock's year-to-date surge became even more eye-catching. Big moves like this can be self-reinforcing, but they also shrink the room for error. For the rally to have staying power, investors will want to see tangible proof across a few areas: a reacceleration of prudent home acquisitions, steadier contribution margins as the inventory mix normalizes, and sustained progress toward positive adjusted EBITDA without relying on unusually favorable pricing windows.

There are real catalysts. Nejatian's product background fits Opendoor's longer-term shift toward agent-led distribution and more capital-light revenue streams. If the company can widen the funnel of homeowner leads through partners, convert more of those leads to either cash offers or marketplace solutions, and do it with tighter cost discipline, the unit economics may improve even if overall housing transactions remain subdued.

But there are also real risks. Housing activity remains interest rate sensitive, and the company's guidance already bakes in a softer second half. Contribution margins can wobble when acquisition volumes are low, and reputational or cultural turbulence from rapid change could distract from execution. A stock that has rallied so significantly this year won't be forgiving if profitability progress stalls.

For investors, that sets a high bar. The leadership moves reset expectations and inject urgency -- and that can be powerful. But the durable case still runs through the quarterly data. If the coming results show acquisitions recovering, contribution margins holding up as inventory mix improves, and adjusted EBITDA turning positive again, the new chapter could justify more of the run. Until then, it's likely best to just stay on the sidelines.

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Daniel Sparks and his clients have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.