Charles Schwab Reaches $11.9 Trillion in Client Assets as Trading Activity Accelerates

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, Charles Schwab Corporation demonstrated noteworthy financial performance, surpassing several key benchmarks despite narrowly trailing revenue expectations. The company registered adjusted earnings per share of $1.39, marking a 38% increase year over year, closely aligning with analyst consensus. Although quarterly revenue totaled $6.336 billion, slightly below the Street’s estimate of $6.369 billion, the firm sustained significant momentum in client engagement and operational growth. A critical driver of revenue growth was the trading segment, where revenue expanded 22% year over year to $1.07 billion. This performance reflected heightened client activity and engagement, contributing to a 31% surge in average daily trading volume, which reached 8.3 million trades per day compared to the previous year's fourth quarter. Margin loan balances also showed marked growth, climbing 34% year over year to $112.3 billion, further underscoring increased client participation in leveraged trading activities. Net interest revenue also demonstrated strength, advancing 25% year over year to $3.17 billion for the quarter. The net interest margin widened by 57 basis points from the prior year, reaching 2.90%, indicating improved profitability from interest-earning assets. Asset management and administration fees complemented revenue growth by rising 15% year over year to $1.7 billion. This uptick was primarily propelled by organic growth, stronger equity markets, and greater utilization of Schwab’s wealth and asset management offerings. Client asset levels reached unprecedented heights, with total client assets climbing 18% year over year to a record $11.9 trillion by quarter-end. This achievement was supported by robust asset gathering, as the firm recorded core net new assets of $163.9 billion in the quarter, the highest ever for the period. Cumulatively, the asset inflows for 2025 totaled $519.4 billion, representing a 42% increase compared to the prior year. Client account metrics further highlighted Schwab’s sustained expansion. New brokerage accounts opened during the quarter exceeded one million for the fifth consecutive quarter, driving the total count of active brokerage accounts to 38.5 million. Overall client accounts, including other account types, reached 46.5 million, reflecting broad-based growth across the firm’s customer base. From a liquidity perspective, the company maintained substantial cash and cash equivalents, ending the quarter with $46.0 billion. However, total deposits held by the bank decreased slightly by 1% year over year to $255.7 billion. The company engaged in significant share repurchases during the quarter, buying back 29.2 million shares for $2.7 billion, signaling confidence in its valuation and financial position. Management commentary reinforced the company’s optimistic outlook and strategic execution. President and CEO Rick Wurster noted that clients are increasingly consolidating their financial activities with Schwab, citing record levels of engagement spanning wealth management, trading, and banking services. He highlighted a 36% year-over-year increase in net inflows into managed investing solutions and the attainment of record bank loan originations within the year. Complementing these remarks, CFO Mike Verdeschi attributed the record 2025 revenue of $23.9 billion, which rose 22% from the previous year, to strong business momentum, elevated client engagement, and favorable market conditions during the period. Schwab’s stock price showed marginal movement in early market trading, remaining essentially flat with a slight increase of 0.02% to $101.01 per share as of premarket hours. This stability comes amid the company’s solid operational results and positive client activity trends.