Charles Schwab (SCHW) stock is in focus on Dec. 12, 2025 after the company posted November monthly activity highlights, including $40.4B in core net new assets and $11.83T in client assets. Here’s the latest news, analyst forecasts, and what to watch before Q4 earnings.
Published: December 12, 2025
Company: The Charles Schwab Corporation (The)
Ticker: NYSE: SCHW
Charles Schwab stock price today (Dec. 12, 2025)
Charles Schwab shares were $95.99, down $1.42 (-1.46%) in late U.S. trading on Friday (Dec. 12, 2025), giving the company a market capitalization of about $169.8 billion.
The stock has been trading within striking distance of its 52-week high ($99.59), a level MarketWatch reported was set on July 29. MarketWatch
What’s driving SCHW stock right now: Schwab’s November monthly activity report
The biggest company-specific catalyst landing today (Dec. 12) is Schwab’s Monthly Activity Report for November 2025—a recurring update that investors use as a real-time read on the firm’s “engine room”: asset gathering, client engagement, and cash sorting.
In its release, Schwab highlighted:
- Core net new assets:$40.4 billion in November, up 40% versus November 2024; $440.3 billion year-to-date Charles Schwab Press Room
- Total client assets:$11.83 trillion at Nov. 30, up 15% year over year and flat vs. October Charles Schwab Press Room
- New brokerage accounts:365,000 opened in November (more than 4.2 million year-to-date) Charles Schwab Press Room
- Daily average trades:8.46 million (continued strong engagement) Charles Schwab Press Room
- Average margin loan balances:$108.9 billion, up 8% month over month Charles Schwab Press Room
- Transactional sweep cash:$427.5 billion, down $1.3 billion in November Charles Schwab Press Room
Why these numbers matter for Schwab’s stock
Schwab’s business model is leveraged to three big “volume” variables:
- Client assets (drives asset-based fees and overall platform economics)
- Trading activity (drives transaction-related revenue and engagement signals)
- Client cash and cash migration (a major driver of net interest revenue dynamics)
That’s why a monthly report showing strong core net new assets and multi-million daily trades tends to get attention: it suggests Schwab’s platform is still pulling in assets and keeping clients active—even as investors remain sensitive to macro uncertainty and rate expectations.
The cash question: sweep balances and deposit-related signals remain in focus
One of the most scrutinized themes for Schwab since the 2022–2023 rate shock has been the “where is client cash going?” debate—often described as cash sorting, as clients move from low-yield sweep features into higher-yield alternatives.
In the November activity tables, Schwab reported average bank deposit account balances of $73.803 billion (in the table’s “Selected Average Balances”), down 3% from October and down 13% year over year. Charles Schwab Press Room
That same report also showed transactional sweep cash ending November at $427.5 billion, down $1.3 billion in the month. Charles Schwab Press Room
Investors generally interpret these lines as part of the ongoing tug-of-war between:
- asset gathering and market engagement (which can lift balances), and
- clients optimizing yield (which can pressure certain cash buckets)
Strategic growth: Forge acquisition and the next wave of product expansion
Schwab’s CEO says more M&A is on the table
At the Reuters NEXT conference earlier this month, CEO Rick Wurster said Schwab will keep an eye out for additional acquisitions, emphasizing that the firm’s scale can amplify the value of new capabilities across its client base. Reuters
He also pointed back to Schwab’s agreement to buy Forge Global for $660 million, a move aimed at capturing demand for access to pre-IPO/private company shares. Reuters
Crypto is becoming a nearer-term catalyst
Wurster also told Reuters that Schwab aims to offer spot crypto trading in the first half of 2026, starting with internal testing and a limited client rollout before broad availability. Reuters
For SCHW investors, this matters for two reasons:
- It signals Schwab is willing to expand beyond traditional brokerage/wealth rails when client demand is clear.
- Crypto functionality could be an engagement and asset-retention lever—though it also introduces regulatory, execution, and reputational considerations.
Balance sheet and credit backdrop: senior notes, dividends, and rating outlook
$2 billion senior notes issuance
Schwab disclosed it issued $2.0 billion of fixed-to-floating rate senior notes:
- $1.0B of 4.343% notes due 2031, and
- $1.0B of 4.914% notes due 2036,
with net proceeds of about $1.986B after expenses. Investing
Dividend remains $0.27 per share
Schwab’s board declared its regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.27 per common share, payable Nov. 28, 2025 to holders of record as of Nov. 14, 2025. Charles Schwab Press Room
S&P revised Schwab’s outlook to positive
S&P Global Ratings revised Schwab’s outlook to positive from stable and affirmed its A-/A-2 issuer credit ratings (announcement dated Oct. 31, 2025). S&P Global
Taken together, these items feed into the market’s ongoing effort to handicap Schwab’s interest-rate risk positioning, liquidity posture, and long-run earnings power.
Wall Street forecast for SCHW: price targets, ratings, and earnings expectations
Analyst views on Schwab remain mixed—but broadly constructive on the medium-term trajectory as the company exits a period of rate-driven balance sheet pressure.
Consensus price target snapshot
A Fintel summary published via Nasdaq noted that as of Dec. 5, 2025, the average one-year price target for Schwab was $112.20, with a range from $88.88 (low) to $145.95 (high). Nasdaq
Notably, that same Nasdaq/Fintel item also referenced BofA Securities maintaining an Underperform recommendation (Dec. 10). Nasdaq
UBS turns bullish: long-term margin and growth expectations
UBS assumed coverage with a Buy rating and outlined a longer-run improvement path, including expectations for net new asset growth moving into the 5–7% range by 2027 and operating margins trending to the mid-50s by 2028. Investing
Zacks/Nasdaq view: valuation + upward estimate revisions
A Nasdaq-published Zacks piece framed Schwab as a value-style idea, citing a forward P/E around 20.18 and noting that 12 analysts raised fiscal 2025 earnings estimates over the last 60 days, with a consensus estimate of $4.81 per share (per that report). Nasdaq
How to read this mix:
- Bulls point to scale, asset gathering, engagement, and improving rate-risk management.
- Bears focus on competitive pressure, cash sorting sensitivity, and valuation as the stock nears highs.
Legal and regulatory watch: TD Ameritrade merger antitrust case settlement
In late November, a federal judge in Texas granted final approval to a settlement tied to claims that Schwab’s TD Ameritrade merger violated antitrust law—approving a deal centered on non-monetary benefits (including an antitrust compliance program) and awarding $8.25 million in attorneys’ fees, according to Reuters. Reuters
Reuters reported the plaintiffs argued the compliance program could yield $10.7 million to $14.5 million in monthly savings for retail customers through improved trade execution (“price improvement”). Reuters
This is not typically a day-to-day trading driver for SCHW, but it remains part of the broader regulatory and litigation backdrop investors monitor for large brokerage platforms.
Macro + sentiment: why market volatility and retail behavior still matter to Schwab
Schwab is unusually sensitive to market “temperature” because investor sentiment affects:
- trading volumes,
- asset flows,
- and what clients do with cash.
Reuters reported in November that retail investors were showing less conviction in buying market dips; Schwab’s head of trading and derivatives strategy Joe Mazzola said retail dip-buying interest was “moderating,” though still present. Reuters
Meanwhile, Schwab’s own research outlook for 2026 (as reported by MarketWatch) expects stocks to “churn higher” with sticky inflation risks and broader sector rotation—conditions that can support engagement but also raise volatility and risk-management questions. MarketWatch
Next catalyst: Q4 earnings timing and what investors will look for
Schwab’s Investor Relations site says the firm typically releases quarterly earnings around the 13th business day of January, April, July, and October—and lists the week of Jan. 19, 2026 for Q4 2025 Earnings/December Monthly Activity Report, with an anticipated date around Jan. 21. About Schwab
Nasdaq’s earnings page lists an estimated earnings date of Jan. 20, 2026. Nasdaq
Key questions likely to dominate that event
Investors will likely focus on:
- Trajectory of net new assets into year-end
- Cash sorting direction (sweep balances, deposit-related signals)
- Trends in trading activity and margin balances
- Updates on the Forge acquisition timeline and integration plans
- Specific milestones for spot crypto trading rollout in 1H 2026
Bottom line for SCHW stock on Dec. 12, 2025
Charles Schwab stock is ending the week with investor attention firmly on the company’s November activity pulse: $40.4B in core net new assets, $11.83T in client assets, and strong trading activity—paired with a strategic narrative that includes the Forge acquisition and a planned move into spot crypto trading in 2026. Charles Schwab Press Room
Analyst forecasts continue to point to upside on average, but the dispersion in ratings and targets underscores that the debate is no longer “will Schwab stabilize?”—it’s “how much earnings power returns as rates, cash behavior, and platform growth normalize?”
