Charles Schwab Corp.’s first-quarter net revenue topped estimates as the retail brokerage tries to put 2023’s turbulence behind it, even as the firm’s net new assets plunged from a year earlier.
The Westlake, Texas-based firm reported $4.74 billion in net revenue for the three months though March, down 7.3% from $5.12 billion a year earlier and topping analysts’ estimates of $4.71 billion.
“Against an improved macroeconomic backdrop, clients entrusted us with $96 billion in core net new assets – including $45 billion in March alone,” Chief Executive Officer Walt Bettinger said in a statement. “At the same time, solid investor engagement contributed to over 1 million new brokerage account openings during the quarter.”
The firm reported $269.5 billion in total deposits, below estimates of $270.5 billion for the period. Schwab’s deposits have been watched closely as consumers sought higher-yielding alternatives amid escalated interest rates. That shuffling of money, coupled with Schwab’s association with last year’s regional-banking chaos, marked 2023 as one of the firm’s most challenging years in decades, Bettinger had said.
Total net new assets reached $88.2 billion in the first quarter, down 41% from $150.7 billion a year earlier. The first-quarter figure is still up from the last three months of 2023, when Schwab reported $66.3 billion in total net new assets.
Schwab shares were down 1.1% to $69.25 at 8:33 a.m. in early New York trading. They’ve gained 1.8% this year.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.