CNBC Squawk on the Street with Schwab CEO Rick Wurster, April 17, 2025
 

Sara Eisen: Charles Schwab, a mover today, up more than 3% after beating earnings estimates. The bank cited market volatility as a catalyst for volume. Charles Schwab CEO and President Rick Wurster, joins us exclusively now. Rick, it's good to have you. Welcome back. 

Rick Wurster: Morning, Sarah. 

Sara Eisen: So give us a little color, if you could, about what you saw as far as new customers and engagement during what's been a pretty rocky period for the market. 

Rick Wurster: Well, we saw record levels of engagement throughout the quarter. Whether it was clients logging on, we did 500 million log-ons in the quarter, an all-time record. We saw call volumes hundreds of thousands a day, you know, really high levels of client engagement, 7.4 million trades a day. So, our clients really wanted to hear from us. And in that period, we felt good about how we showed up for them and how we delivered for them. And as a result, we saw really strong levels of organic growth. $138 billion of net new assets in the quarter, 1.2 million new brokerage accounts that we brought on. So it was a quarter of robust growth, and when you're there for clients and you grow, the financial results follow. And it was a strong financial quarter as well. 

Sara Eisen: What about what customers are doing with cash? I remember during the drama of the regional bank crisis, the SVB collapse, that there were concerns that, you know, clients were moving out of cash, and that was happening with higher interest rates and to higher-yielding products. Feels like the opposite is happening now. And that's more profitable for you guys. Is that right? 

Rick Wurster: Well, Sara, we've got 44 million client accounts that we support on a day-to-day basis, and clients are taking a range of different activities. On balance, yes. In the last few weeks, we have seen our cash levels build a little bit. We've seen some net equity selling, and we've seen a slight decrease in margin on average. That said, we have a range of different types of clients. We have very active traders who are buying the dip. And we have long-term investors who are sitting still, but want to engage and talk to a professional and talk about their plan and what to do. 

Sara Eisen: So where do you think it goes from here? Is it, higher volatility equals better business for Schwab? What's your projection about whether this growth can continue? 

Rick Wurster: Well, we try to take the long-term view of where markets will grow. And we try to focus on what we can, which is nailing it every single day for our clients. We know that with 44 million client accounts and roughly 10 trillion of assets, that if we show up every day and nail the basics for clients, that they will thrive in their financial life and that we will do well as a company so that that's our focus. We'll see what market volatility brings. It tends to be an environment where clients come to us more in a storm than they might go other places. And I think you saw that in our robust growth that we saw in these kinds of periods are a hallmark of why we've been successful for 50 years, because we really champion our clients' goals and we stand by them in periods like this. So we'll be ready to support our clients regardless of what the market may bring. 

Sara Eisen: What about wealth management? How much are you leaning in there, and what are you seeing as far as new clients?

Rick Wurster: I think there is a bull market for convenience in our country and a bull market for advice in our country. And you see that, what with the developments we've seen in wealth management, pretty much every quarter, quarter, over quarter, we're setting a new record for the level of engagement in our wealth management business, amongst our retail clients and our advisors that we support. They're growing and setting records each quarter. And I think what that's driven by is the desire to have someone sit alongside you in your financial life, help champion your goals, help you get to where you need to be. And so I think there is a bull market for convenience across every industry. And we see it in our industry as it relates to getting that advice and guidance. 

Sara Eisen: I know you said that some retail clients are buying the dip, some are staying pat, some are spooked. How would you characterize overall the mood of retail across your platform right now? Are they spooked by what's happening here with tariffs and growth or what? 

Rick Wurster: The overwhelming mood is one of engagement. We've just seen record levels of activity and engagement in every metric that we track, whether it's new assets coming to the firm, calls coming in, retail logins. It's all defined as engagement, and we're here for them. I was just talking with one of our top financial consultants in California earlier in the week, and I said, how are clients doing? And she responded, and I could barely hear her because her voice was gone. And it was a reflection of how much clients are wanting to hear from us here, what our point of view is. And we're seeing that across every dimension, including a 40 times increase in our market commentary and how much people are relying upon that. And they're streaming more news. And so I'm sure it's been a good period for your channel as well. 

Sara Eisen: Absolutely. Yes, we hope so. Thank you Rick, we appreciate the color on the corner. 

Rick Wurster: Great to see you Sara, thanks for having me on. 

Important disclosures:

Forward-Looking Statements

This contains forward-looking statements, which reflect management’s expectations as of the date hereof. Achievement of these expectations and objectives is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Important factors that may cause such differences are described in the company’s most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are available on the company’s website (https://www.aboutschwab.com/financial-reports) and on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website (https://www.sec.gov). The company makes no commitment to update any forward-looking statements.

The information here is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered an individualized recommendation or personalized investment advice. All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice in reaction to shifting market conditions.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

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