The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) reported record-breaking fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results, signaling a definitive end to the "cash sorting" challenges that plagued the brokerage giant following the 2023 regional banking crisis.
Schwab posted fourth-quarter net income of $2.5 billion, or $1.33 per share, a 38% increase compared to the same period last year.
On an adjusted basis, earnings reached $1.39 per share, fueled by record quarterly net revenues of $6.3 billion—a 19% year-over-year jump.
The primary driver of the quarter’s success was a massive influx of client capital, with core net new assets totaling $163.9 billion in the final three months of the year.
This surge pushed total client assets to an all-time high of $11.90 trillion, reflecting a 5.1% organic growth rate for the full year.
CEO Rick Wurster, who recently took the helm, noted that the firm is successfully deepening client relationships, with managed investing net inflows growing 36% in 2025 as investors increasingly turn to Schwab for personalized wealth management solutions.
Beyond asset gathering, Schwab's financial health was bolstered by the stabilization of its bank deposit base.
After two years of clients shifting idle cash into higher-yielding alternatives, transactional sweep cash began to rebuild, allowing the company to pay down high-cost supplemental funding.
This structural shift, combined with robust trading activity and a 22% increase in annual revenue, enabled Schwab to return $11.8 billion to shareholders in 2025 through dividends and the repurchase of approximately 10% of its common stock.