Schwab's stock touches all-time high as it eyes crypto, boasts 1 million new brokerage accounts

By Steve Gelsi

Trading revenue increased 23% as clients stepped up their activity during April's 'liberation day' selloff

Charles Schwab Corp.'s stock rose to trade at an all-time high on Friday, after the brokerage signaled a robust second half of 2025 on the heels of a stronger-than-expected second-quarter profit and revenue fueled by a surge in trading.

Looking ahead, the company (SCHW) talked up plans to expand its presence in cryptocurrencies by offering bitcoin (BTCUSD) and ether (ETHUSD) trading on its platform, followed by a blockchain offering.

"We want to get bitcoin and [ether] out first, but the stablecoins will come next," Schwab Chief Executive Rick Wurster said. "We have had conversations with the large banks and around a consortium of efforts to handle stablecoin or deliver stablecoin to the market. And at the same time, we're also exploring our own avenues, and we'll make a decision that we think is best for our clients."

Also read: Are stablecoins the next Venmo? Big banks prep for the next big payments competition.

Schwab said it now expects full-year adjusted profit of $4.55 to $4.65 a share, ahead of the FactSet consensus estimate of $4.45 a share.

It noted that it continues to grow its net margins, which increased to 50.1% in the second quarter from 41% in the year-ago period on an adjusted basis.

Schwab's stock rose 3% to $95.89 a share in morning trading, though had recently pared its gains to 2.1%, or $95.08 a share - just shy of the record close of $95.53 a share, reached Jan. 14, 2022.

Earlier in the day, the financial firm said its profit for the three months ending June 30 rose to $1.98 billion, or $1.08 a share, from $4.69 billion, or $5.85 a share, in the year-ago quarter.

Its adjusted profit of $1.14 a share beat the FactSet consensus estimate of $1.10.

Revenue increased to a record $5.85 billion from $4.69 billion, ahead of the analyst estimate of $5.73 billion.

Among the highlights in the quarter, Schwab reported a 23% increase in trading revenue to $952 million, from $777 million a year earlier, as investors scrambled during the steep "liberation day" stock-market selloff in April.

Client trading volume increased by 38% year over year to 7.6 million daily average trades,

Schwab said it opened more than 1 million new brokerage accounts during the quarter and gathered $80.3 billion in core new assets, up 31%.

Total client assets set a record of $10.76 trillion, up 14% year over year.

"After a period of volatility at the start of April, both markets and investor sentiment rebounded throughout the second quarter," the company said.

Also read: Bank stocks see broad rally as U.S.-China trade talks reduce recession predictions.

Schwab's stock has rallied more than 25% in 2025 through Thursday, while Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF XLF has advanced more than 8% and the S&P 500 index SPX has gained over 7%.

Schwab hopes crypto products will appeal to younger customers

Asked how Schwab competes for younger clients against rivals such as Webull Corp. (BULL) and Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD), Wurster said the firm offers a wider set of products and services, as well as 400 U.S. locations with 16,000 advisors.

"As we've done for 50 years, we are always willing to disrupt ourselves and to do what's required to make sure that we are the firm meeting the needs of clients in our industry," the CEO said, according to a FactSet transcript. "And where that's necessary, we will do it."

Schwab currently holds more than a 20% share of all exchange-traded-product assets in crypto on its custody platform, he noted.

Its efforts to offer bitcoin and ether come after it initially mentioning plans in April to offer the crypto services within 12 months.

"When those launch, I expect those to be a meaningful accelerant or meaningful growth driver," Wurster said. "I talk to clients all the time who tell me the following: 'I've got 98% of my assets sitting at Schwab and 2% at a small firm that specializes in crypto, you know, some digital native firm. And they say, 'I can't wait until you have bitcoin or [ether] because I want to move all those assets to Schwab.'"

-Steve Gelsi

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