Charles Schwab posts mixed Q1 results, reports 1m new client accounts

Charles Schwab posted better-than-expected first quarter profits, although revenue growth came in a bit shy of the Street's estimates.

The firm's boss, Walt Bettinger, highlighted the fact that clients opened 1m new brokerage accounts during the quarter, entrusting Charles Schwab with $132bn of core net new assets in the process, including $53bn in March alone.

Total client assets at period end stood at $7.58trn.

For the three months ending on 31 March, the discount securities dealer reported a 14% jump in net income to reach $1.06bn, for adjusted earnings per share of 93 US cents.

The latter was well above the 77 cents earned during the first quarter of 2022 and ahead of the 90 cent consensus estimate.

Revenues grew handily, rising by 10% to reach about $5.12bn, but were a tad short of the $5.14bn that analysts had penciled in.

Charles Schwab also announced a 14% increase in its quarterly dividend to 25 US cents per share.

However, given the recent events in the banking sector and resulting regulatory uncertainty, the brokerage decided to pause its buyback pogramme.

"That being said, opportunistic capital return is still an important component of our 'through the cycle' financial formula.

"Ultimately, we believe the current headwinds will prove transitory and we remain well positioned to deliver long-term value to our stockholders."

As of 1328 GMT, shares in the company were trading 2.82% higher to $52.15.