Charles Schwab Corporation (The) stock is starting the week in focus after the company rolled out fresh trading-platform enhancements aimed at active investors—while Wall Street continues to debate how much upside remains after a strong 2025 run.
As of the latest available pricing on December 15, 2025, SCHW traded at $95.66, down $0.99 (-1.02%) on the day, with an intraday range of $95.06–$97.24.
Below is a detailed look at what’s driving Charles Schwab stock right now, what analysts are forecasting, and what investors are watching into 2026.
What’s happening with Charles Schwab stock today
1) Schwab just upgraded its trading experience across web, mobile, and thinkorswim
Schwab announced a new set of updates across Schwab.com, Schwab Mobile, and thinkorswim, positioning the changes as a direct response to what it described as sustained high engagement and demand from active traders. [1]
A few of the most market-relevant updates:
- Extended Hours Valuation toggle on Schwab.com and Schwab Mobile, allowing users to view gain/loss and market value based on regular close or extended-hours pricing. [2]
- Expanded fundamentals and third‑party research ratings (including providers such as CFRA, Morningstar, Reuters, and Argus) plus 15+ new datapoints such as EPS growth and ROE. [3]
- Options workflow upgrades, including saved multi‑leg option orders, option-chain sorting, and strike-interval customization on Schwab.com. [4]
- thinkorswim improvements spanning account display management, portfolio tools (including tax-lot details), and enhanced news filtering. [5]
- Expansion of futures offerings, including new products such as 1 oz gold futures and Solana / Micro Solana futures, reflecting the continued blend of traditional and crypto-adjacent instruments in active trading. [6]
Importantly for investors, Schwab tied the move to scale: the company said it has exceeded seven million daily average trades for three consecutive quarters, signaling that elevated activity isn’t just a one-off volatility spike. [7]
Schwab’s Managing Director and Head of Trading Services, James Kostulias, framed the rollout simply: “We’re always listening” to client feedback. [8]
2) Schwab is also leaning on “human help” again—adding branch trading support roles
Digital is the headline, but Schwab also said it’s expanding in-branch support by creating new roles—Regional Trading Consultants and Senior Engagement Managers—across a network of nearly 400 retail branches. [9]
For SCHW stock watchers, that matters because the competitive battlefield isn’t only price or app features anymore—it’s the full ecosystem: education, service, and confidence for higher-value clients (and advisors) who may trade less frequently but hold larger balances.
The most important near-term fundamental: asset flows and client engagement
Schwab’s stock often reacts less to “headline features” and more to the monthly reality of flows, cash sorting, and client assets—because those variables feed directly into earnings power.
In its latest monthly activity update (for November 2025), Schwab reported:
- Core net new assets:$40.4 billion (up 40% vs. November 2024)
- Year-to-date core net new assets:$440.3 billion
- Total client assets:$11.83 trillion (up 15% year over year)
- New brokerage accounts opened:365,000 in November (YTD more than 4.2 million)
- Daily average trades:8.46 million
- Average margin loan balances:$108.9 billion (up 8%)
- Transactional sweep cash: down $1.3 billion to $427.5 billion [10]
Schwab also updated its scale metrics: 38.3 million active brokerage accounts, plus millions more in workplace plan participant and banking accounts, alongside the same $11.83 trillion in client assets as of Nov. 30, 2025. [11]
Why this matters for SCHW investors
- Net new assets are the “fuel” for future revenue (advisory fees, asset-based fees, and—indirectly—cash balances and lending).
- Trading volume supports transaction-related lines (especially in derivatives/futures) and tends to correlate with higher engagement and retention.
- Sweep cash trends are closely watched because they can signal whether clients are holding cash, moving it into higher-yield options, or redeploying into markets—each scenario changes Schwab’s earnings mix.
Rates remain the biggest macro lever for Schwab’s earnings narrative
Like many brokerage-plus-bank hybrids, Schwab is highly sensitive to interest-rate dynamics. The company benefits when it can earn more on client cash and its balance sheet—but it also has to manage duration, funding costs, and client behavior around yields.
Schwab’s own policy commentary notes that the Federal Open Market Committee delivered another 25-basis-point rate cut at its December meeting, the third cut of the year (per Schwab’s recap). [12]
The “rate cuts vs. activity” trade-off investors are pricing
- Potential headwind: falling rates can reduce the yield Schwab earns on interest-earning assets over time.
- Potential tailwind: easier policy can support market levels, risk appetite, and trading/investing activity—often a net positive for client assets and engagement.
In Schwab’s most recently reported quarter (Q3 2025), Reuters reported the company posted record profits and highlighted a sharp improvement in net interest revenue and net interest margin, alongside higher trading revenue—key proof points for the “fundamentals are normalizing” camp. [13]
Credit and balance-sheet perception has improved—and Wall Street noticed
One of the lingering investor concerns since the 2023–2024 regional bank stress era has been the mark-to-market impact of higher rates on securities portfolios and the knock-on effects for capital and liquidity.
S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook on Schwab to positive from stable while affirming its A-/A-2 issuer credit ratings, citing improvements such as reduced unrealized securities losses and stronger adjusted regulatory capital ratios, according to coverage of the ratings action. [14]
That same coverage also pointed to a stronger adjusted Tier 1 leverage ratio (adjusted for unrealized losses) and noted Schwab’s use of derivatives to reduce securities portfolio duration—signs of a more proactive interest-rate-risk stance. [15]
For equity investors, this doesn’t just affect debt investors—it can influence how comfortable the market is with buybacks, growth investments, and acquisitions.
Analyst forecasts for Charles Schwab stock: price targets, upgrades, and the current range
Analyst sentiment is broadly constructive, but price targets vary by firm and data provider.
Consensus target prices suggest upside from current levels
MarketWatch’s analyst snapshot lists an average target price of $112.24 on Schwab, based on 21 ratings. [16]
Using today’s ~$95.66 price, that implies roughly 17% upside (not a prediction—just the math difference between price and average target).
Separately, a Nasdaq summary (focused on Barclays coverage context) cited an average one-year target around $112.20, with forecasts ranging from $88.88 (low) to $145.95 (high). [17]
Recent firm-specific calls investors are reacting to
- UBS initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $119 price target, describing Schwab as a premier player in mass-affluent brokerage and RIA custody, and laying out longer-term margin and growth expectations. [18]
- Barclays lowered its price target to $111 from $115 while maintaining an Overweight rating, in a broader 2026 outlook for brokers/asset managers/exchanges. [19]
How to interpret these targets (without over-weighting them)
Price targets typically reflect an analyst’s view of:
- expected earnings power (including net interest income assumptions),
- asset growth and engagement,
- expense discipline / margin trajectory,
- and how much valuation multiple the market should pay.
For SCHW specifically, the market is still deciding whether Schwab deserves a premium multiple as a “scaled platform winner,” or a more conservative multiple due to rate sensitivity and competition.
Strategic catalysts shaping the 2026 story: private markets, crypto, and funding moves
1) Schwab’s planned acquisition of Forge Global
Schwab previously announced a definitive agreement to acquire Forge Global in a transaction valued at approximately $660 million—a move aimed at expanding access to private markets. [20]
Reuters also framed the deal as part of a broader industry push to give clients access to pre-IPO/private company shares, with the transaction expected to close in the first half of 2026. [21]
2) Crypto ambitions: spot trading targeted for H1 2026
At the Reuters Next conference, Schwab CEO Rick Wurster said Schwab plans to launch spot crypto trading in the first half of 2026, initially piloting with employees and select clients, and indicated openness to further M&A—potentially including crypto-related capabilities if opportunities make sense. [22]
3) Balance-sheet funding: $2B senior notes issuance
Schwab also issued $2 billion in senior notes (two $1B tranches) with fixed-to-floating structures due 2031 and 2036, and reported net proceeds of approximately $1.986 billion. [23]
For equity investors, this kind of issuance is typically read through the lens of liquidity, capital structure optimization, and flexibility—especially in a world where rates (and funding costs) remain central to the Schwab thesis.
The bull case vs. bear case for SCHW stock right now
What supports the bull case
- Scale + engagement: sustained high trading volumes, platform upgrades, and strong account growth. [24]
- Asset gathering: strong year-to-date core net new assets and $11.83T client asset base. [25]
- Strategic expansion: private markets via Forge, and potential crypto monetization. [26]
- Improving perception of risk management: ratings outlook improvement and stronger capital framing. [27]
What keeps the bear case alive
- Rate sensitivity: cuts can eventually pressure net interest income depending on how quickly yields reprice versus funding and client cash behaviors. [28]
- Competition: brokerage pricing is commoditized; differentiation requires ongoing investment (which can pressure expenses).
- Execution risk: acquisitions, new product lines (including crypto), and platform rollouts need to translate into measurable economics, not just feature headlines.
What to watch next for Charles Schwab stock
If you’re tracking SCHW into year-end and early 2026, these are the datapoints that tend to matter most:
- Monthly asset flows (core net new assets) and whether equity-market strength continues to lift client assets. [29]
- Sweep cash trajectory, because it can signal client cash sorting and earnings mix. [30]
- Trading activity (options/futures adoption in particular), especially as Schwab expands futures products. [31]
- Updates on Forge deal timing and integration plans as closing approaches in H1 2026. [32]
- Crypto product roadmap progress (pilot feedback, launch details, economics). [33]
Bottom line
On December 15, 2025, Charles Schwab stock is being shaped by a familiar mix of catalysts: platform upgrades and engagement, asset-gathering momentum, and an ongoing market debate about how rate cuts and competition translate into 2026 earnings power. [34]
With the stock near $95–$96 today and many published analyst targets clustered above $110 [35], the market is effectively asking one question: can Schwab convert its scale and product roadmap into a durable “next leg” of growth—even as monetary policy shifts?
References
1. pressroom.aboutschwab.com, 2. pressroom.aboutschwab.com, 3. pressroom.aboutschwab.com, 4. www.investing.com, 5. www.investing.com, 6. www.investing.com, 7. www.investing.com, 8. www.investing.com, 9. www.investing.com, 10. pressroom.aboutschwab.com, 11. pressroom.aboutschwab.com, 12. www.schwab.com, 13. www.reuters.com, 14. www.investing.com, 15. www.investing.com, 16. www.marketwatch.com, 17. www.nasdaq.com, 18. www.investing.com, 19. www.tipranks.com, 20. pressroom.aboutschwab.com, 21. www.reuters.com, 22. www.reuters.com, 23. www.sec.gov, 24. www.investing.com, 25. pressroom.aboutschwab.com, 26. pressroom.aboutschwab.com, 27. www.investing.com, 28. www.schwab.com, 29. pressroom.aboutschwab.com, 30. pressroom.aboutschwab.com, 31. www.investing.com, 32. pressroom.aboutschwab.com, 33. www.reuters.com, 34. www.investing.com, 35. www.marketwatch.com
