Updated: December 12, 2025
Company: The Charles Schwab Corporation (The)
Ticker:NYSE: SCHW
Charles Schwab stock closed the week with a modest gain, even after a soft finish on Friday. The backdrop was anything but quiet: Schwab published fresh November client-activity metrics, the Federal Reserve delivered another rate cut, and investors continued debating the same question that has driven the stock’s narrative for two years—how quickly client cash moves back toward bank sweep deposits as yields fall.
Below is what mattered for SCHW stock this week, what the newest data say about flows, trading, and cash, and the week-ahead catalysts that could set the tone for brokers and asset managers.
SCHW stock price action this week
Charles Schwab shares finished Friday, Dec. 12 at $96.65, down about 0.4% on the day, after trading roughly between $94.38 and $97.40. StockAnalysis
On a week-over-week basis, the stock was up about 3% versus last Friday’s close (Dec. 5) and up about 2.5% from Monday’s close—a “two steps forward, one step back” pattern that’s been common for rate-sensitive financials when macro headlines dominate the tape. StockAnalysis
Schwab’s 52-week range sits roughly in the mid-$60s to just under $100, underlining how much the market has repriced the company as the rate cycle evolved. Investing
The big company catalyst: Schwab’s November monthly activity report
The headline for Schwab this week was simple: asset gathering stayed strong.
In its November 2025 Monthly Activity Report (released Dec. 12), Schwab reported:
- Core net new assets:$40.4 billion (up 40% vs. Nov. 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:365,000 in November (more than 4.2 million YTD)
- 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 Charles Schwab Press Room
That last bullet—sweep cash—is where Schwab bulls and bears tend to meet.
Why sweep cash still matters so much for SCHW
Schwab is a brokerage, but it’s also one of the market’s most closely watched client cash engines. When clients keep cash in bank sweep deposits, Schwab can earn attractive net interest income. When clients move cash into money market funds or other higher-yielding options, Schwab’s earnings mix shifts.
The detailed supplementary table for November adds color on where cash sat at month-end:
- Bank sweep deposits & broker-dealer free credits:$314.7B
- Other client cash on the balance sheet:$39.5B
- Bank deposit account balances:$73.3B
- Total transactional sweep cash:$427.5B Schwab
At the same time, Schwab reported total money market funds of $685.9B at month-end November (including proprietary purchased funds and sweep money market funds). Schwab
What that suggests: even as sweep cash dipped slightly month-over-month, the broader “cash complex” stayed enormous—and investor decisions about cash yields remain central to Schwab’s earnings outlook.
A quick sentiment read from Wall Street
Barron’s coverage of the monthly report framed the numbers as evidence that Schwab is opening accounts and pulling in assets in a strong equity market, highlighting $40.4B in core net new assets and $11.83T in client assets. Barron’s
Macro backdrop: the Fed just cut rates again—here’s why SCHW investors care
On Dec. 10, the Federal Reserve lowered the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 bps to 3.50%–3.75%, citing slowing job gains, an edging-up unemployment rate, and elevated uncertainty. Federal Reserve
For Schwab, rate cuts can work in two directions:
Potential positives
- Lower policy rates can reduce the “reward” for moving cash out of bank sweeps, which may help ease cash sorting over time (clients becoming less motivated to chase the last basis point in money funds).
Potential negatives
- Falling rates can also pressure asset yields (what Schwab earns on interest-earning assets), especially if yields reprice faster than funding costs.
That’s why Schwab often trades like a proxy for “how orderly the rate down-cycle will be,” not just like a pure brokerage/wealth manager.
One more data point reinforcing the “cash is still cautious” narrative: Reuters reported a surge of inflows into U.S. money market funds ahead of the Fed decision earlier this week. Reuters
Strategic headlines shaping the longer-term SCHW story
1) Private markets push: Forge Global acquisition
Schwab’s biggest strategic headline of late 2025 remains its agreement to acquire Forge Global in a deal valued at about $660 million—positioned as a move to expand access to private-market investing for qualified investors. Schwab said the transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026 (subject to approvals). Charles Schwab Press Room
This matters for SCHW stock less for near-term earnings and more for narrative: Schwab is trying to ensure its platform remains the “default home” for investor assets as demand grows for alternatives, private equity exposure, and late-stage private-company liquidity.
2) CEO signals more M&A + crypto roadmap
At the Reuters NEXT conference, CEO Rick Wurster said Schwab would remain open to more M&A after the Forge deal, and Reuters reported Schwab plans to launch spot crypto trading in the first half of 2026, starting with an initial pilot. Reuters
Crypto still isn’t the core Schwab story today, but it’s increasingly part of the “platform completeness” conversation—especially as younger investors expect traditional brokers to offer more asset types in one place.
3) “Investing vs. gambling” positioning
In a recent Wall Street Journal interview, Wurster emphasized a clear distinction between long-term investing and gambling-style speculation, at a time when parts of the industry are leaning hard into high-frequency products and trading “event” style instruments. Wall Street Journal
For investors, this reads as brand strategy: Schwab is betting that trust, advice, and full-service financial relationships are more durable than trend-driven trading spikes when markets eventually cool.
Analyst forecasts: where Wall Street sees SCHW heading
Across the Street, Schwab still carries a broadly constructive setup:
- A major snapshot of analyst sentiment shows 17 analysts with a consensus “Buy” and an average price target around $108.41 (implying mid-teens upside from current levels, depending on price). StockAnalysis
- MarketBeat similarly tracks a mid-$100s price-target area and recent rating changes (directionally consistent with a “moderate buy” stance). MarketBeat
- Zacks highlighted Schwab as a value-oriented idea on Dec. 12, pointing to estimate revisions and expected earnings power (a sentiment tailwind, even if not the only lens investors use). Nasdaq
The big analytical hinge point behind most forecasts remains the same:
- Net interest revenue trajectory as rates fall, and
- Client cash allocation behavior (sweep vs. money funds), plus
- “Normal” brokerage drivers—market levels, trading activity, and asset-based fees.
Week ahead: what could move Charles Schwab stock next week
Schwab itself doesn’t have a major scheduled corporate event next week, but the calendar is loaded with macro catalysts that can swing rate expectations—and SCHW often reacts quickly to changing yield assumptions.
Key U.S. data to watch
Tuesday, Dec. 16
- Employment Situation (November 2025) is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- The U.S. Census Bureau’s schedule notes that Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services (previously delayed) is also rescheduled for Dec. 16. Census
Thursday, Dec. 18
- CPI for November 2025 is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET (the BLS schedule reflects revised timing). Bureau of Labor Statistics
Why these reports matter specifically for SCHW
- If inflation prints hotter and markets reprice toward a “higher for longer” path, broker stocks can react in complex ways—higher rates may help asset yields but can also reignite cash sorting into money funds.
- If jobs or inflation data weaken and markets price a faster easing path, that can support risk assets (helpful for asset-based fees and sentiment), but may also compress forward net interest expectations.
The practical takeaway: for SCHW in the near term, next week is less about a single Schwab headline and more about whether the market’s “rate-cut path” becomes steeper or flatter.
Bull case vs. bear case for SCHW stock right now
Bull case
- Organic growth remains strong: November core net new assets of $40.4B and client assets of $11.83T reinforce Schwab’s scale advantage. Charles Schwab Press Room
- Engagement is healthy:8.46M daily average trades and rising margin balances suggest active clients. Charles Schwab Press Room
- Strategic optionality: private markets (Forge) plus a clearer crypto roadmap can help Schwab keep assets “inside the ecosystem.” Charles Schwab Press Room
Bear case
- Rate sensitivity doesn’t disappear: the earnings model is still highly linked to the path of rates and client cash behavior. Schwab
- Cash remains yield-aware: money market fund balances are still massive, and money market fund flows can accelerate quickly when uncertainty rises. Schwab
- Execution risk: integrating Forge and expanding private-market access adds regulatory, operational, and reputational complexity. Charles Schwab Press Room
Bottom line
Charles Schwab stock (SCHW) ends the week with solid momentum, supported by a fresh set of monthly metrics showing robust asset gathering and healthy client engagement. Charles Schwab Press Room
But the stock’s week-ahead direction may depend less on Schwab-specific headlines and more on the market’s evolving interpretation of jobs, inflation, and the post-cut Fed path—the key variable that still shapes Schwab’s cash economics and earnings narrative. Bureau of Labor Statistics
