Key Highlights
- Q1 adjusted earnings per share reached $1.43, surpassing analyst forecasts by $0.04
- First-quarter net revenue achieved an all-time high of $6.5B, reflecting a 16% annual increase
- Client assets under management expanded 19% to reach $11.77 trillion
- The firm executed $2.4B in share buybacks and increased its quarterly dividend by 19%
- Average daily trading activity reached an unprecedented 9.9 million trades, representing a 34% surge compared to Q1 2025
The financial services giant delivered impressive first-quarter performance, with adjusted earnings per share of $1.43 exceeding Wall Street’s consensus forecast of $1.39 by four cents.
On a GAAP basis, earnings per share totaled $1.37. The company’s net revenue climbed to an unprecedented $6.5 billion, marking a 16% year-over-year gain and slightly topping the analyst estimate of $6.47 billion.
GAAP-based net income for the three-month period reached $2.48 billion, representing a 30% jump from the prior-year quarter. Adjusted net income totaled $2.59 billion, climbing 29% compared to the first quarter of 2025.
The Charles Schwab Corporation, SCHW
The firm’s pre-tax profit margin widened to 49.2% using GAAP accounting standards, compared to 43.8% in the year-ago quarter. The adjusted pre-tax margin reached 51.4%.
During the quarter, the brokerage attracted $140 billion in core net new assets from clients. When adjusting for a scheduled mutual fund clearing deconversion that led to $17.5 billion in outflows, the net new asset figure increases to $157.5 billion.
The company added 1.3 million new brokerage accounts in the first quarter. Active brokerage accounts now total 39.1 million, while overall client accounts stand at 47.2 million.
Trading Volume and Asset Expansion Hit New Peaks
Average daily trading volume reached an all-time high of 9.9 million trades during the quarter, marking a 34% increase versus the first quarter of 2025. This surge contributed to trading revenue growth of 20% on a year-over-year basis.
Client assets under management climbed 19% annually to $11.77 trillion. Revenue from asset management and administration fees increased 15% to $1.8 billion.
Net flows into Managed Investing Solutions jumped 46% relative to the year-ago quarter. Bank loan balances grew 29% year-over-year, reaching $60.9 billion at the end of March.
Margin loan balances increased 13% from year-end 2025 to $126.7 billion, which encompasses $21.3 billion associated with long/short investment strategies employed by registered investment advisor clients.
The net interest margin for the period stood at 2.88%. Client transactional sweep cash balances concluded March at $461.5 billion, rising $7.8 billion from the previous quarter.
Shareholder Returns and Dividend Increase
Schwab bought back 24.3 million shares of common stock for $2.4 billion throughout the first quarter. Additionally, the company boosted its quarterly common stock dividend by 19% to $0.32 per share.
Annualized return on average common stockholders’ equity reached 23%, improving from 18% in the first quarter of 2025. Return on tangible common equity achieved 40%.
The brokerage completed its purchase of Forge Global in early March. GAAP-based expenses increased 5% year-over-year, with adjusted expenses similarly rising 5% after removing $143 million in costs related to acquisitions and integration activities.
The company also introduced the Schwab Teen Investor Account during the quarter, designed for young investors between the ages of 13 and 17.
StockBrokers.com recognized the firm as the top overall broker for the second consecutive year. March’s core net new assets of $79.7 billion marked the second-highest monthly total ever recorded by the company.
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