(Updated - April 18, 2022 8:51 AM EDT)

Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) reported Q1 EPS of $0.77, $0.07 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.84. Revenue for the quarter came in at $4.67 million versus the consensus estimate of $4.83 million.

CEO Walt Bettinger said, “Our business momentum remained quite strong throughout the first quarter. We helped clients face a complex set of crosscurrents, which included an ongoing economic recovery supported by continued progress against the COVID pandemic, rising inflation, geopolitical turmoil driven by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Fed initiating its first tightening cycle since late 2015, and more volatile equity markets that remained below year-end 2021 levels for the vast majority of the period. Ongoing client engagement was reflected in trading activity that averaged more than 6.5 million a day – a level exceeded only by the ‘re-opening’ surge of last year’s first quarter. At the same time, Schwab’s contemporary full-service model and 'no trade-offs' approach to value, service, transparency, and trust helped attract 1.2 million new brokerage accounts during the first quarter, along with $121 billion in core net new assets, which represents a 6% annualized organic growth rate. We ended March with 33.6 million active brokerage accounts and $7.86 trillion in total client assets, up 5% and 11%, respectively, over year-earlier levels.”

“Along with supporting clients through a turbulent environment, we continued to drive progress across our strategic priorities during the quarter, including two significant steps in the exciting area of personalized investing,” Mr. Bettinger continued. “We announced Schwab Personalized Indexing™ (SPI), a proprietary direct indexing solution designed to bring tax efficient personalized portfolio management capabilities – along with a highly competitive account minimum and fee schedule – to a wider spectrum of both registered investment advisors and retail investors. SPI includes daily monitoring of client portfolios and tax-loss harvesting technology that is managed by a team of investment professionals. Additionally, we introduced our initial thematic stock lists, which are built using a proprietary algorithm and designed to help self-directed investors pick stocks aligned with their interests and values. Clients can view potential investments from a list of 45 different categories and approximately 900 companies representing a range of themes including data advancement, medical breakthroughs, and environmental innovation.”

Mr. Bettinger added, “During the first quarter, we took steps to help our clients navigate the mutual fund selection process more efficiently as they look across the broad range of choices available on our open architecture platform. Clients using our enhanced Fund Finder tool on Schwab.com now have the option of referencing modules that highlight funds from Schwab and T. Rowe Price that meet their search criteria, have no transaction fees, and have Morningstar Overall Ratings of four or five stars. Of note, independent advisors who custody with Schwab have already gained access to T. Rowe Price’s lowest cost institutional share class funds through our platform without transaction fees.”

Mr. Bettinger concluded, “We see SPI and our thematic lists as initial steps in giving clients more power in personalizing their investments to reflect their unique circumstances and perspectives. Similarly, simplifying the research experience for clients when selecting mutual funds gives them more power to build their financial futures with investments that make sense for them. We remain committed to pushing forward with these and other strategic initiatives even as we keep our TD Ameritrade integration work on schedule, because we know that both fronts are essential elements of our 'Through Clients’ Eyes' strategy. Schwab’s strong growth reflects the enduring appeal of that strategy for millions of investors as well as the independent advisors who serve them.”

CFO Peter Crawford noted, “Our first quarter 2022 financial results reflected our ongoing success with clients while contending with the effects of a challenging environment. Total revenues of $4.7 billion were just under the record level set in the year-ago quarter amidst that extraordinary surge in client activity, with increases in net interest revenue (NIR) and asset management and administration fees (AMAF) essentially offsetting the effects of trading activity returning to more moderate levels. First quarter 2022 NIR and AMAF were strengthened by growing balances and modestly improved – but still low – short-term interest rates. The lift from these increases, however, was muted somewhat by recent equity market weakness and volatility, which affected margin loan balances and securities lending activity as well as client asset valuations.”

Mr. Crawford continued, “Our GAAP expenses rose 3% year-over-year to $2.8 billion, including $96 million in acquisition and integration-related costs and $154 million in amortization of acquired intangibles. Exclusive of these items, adjusted total expenses(1) were up 4% versus the first quarter of 2021, consistent with our expectations as we invest in our people and our ability to support current and ongoing growth in our client base. Our diversified revenue model, along with disciplined expense management that aims to balance near-term profitability and long-term investment, enabled us to achieve a pre-tax profit margin of 39.4% – 44.7% on an adjusted basis(1). We believe the relative resiliency of our first quarter revenues and profitability represents solid performance in the face of significant environmental headwinds.”

“Our priority for capital management remains centered on maintaining flexibility for supporting ongoing growth,” Mr. Crawford said. “During the first quarter, we migrated an additional $13 billion in Insured Deposit Account (IDA) balances onto our balance sheet, and total assets rose by a similar amount versus year-end 2021. To augment our capital position amidst this growth in assets, we issued $750 million in preferred stock. We also issued $3 billion in senior notes primarily for ongoing liquidity management purposes. The company’s preliminary Tier 1 Leverage Ratio was 6.1% as of March 31. With a first quarter return on equity of 12% and ROTCE(1) of 26%, our healthy financial performance and consistent attention to capital management have helped us deliver a double-digit return on equity and a ROTCE of at least 20% every quarter since acquiring TD Ameritrade. As we move deeper into 2022, we remain confident that Schwab has the financial strength and flexibility necessary to stay focused on serving our clients however conditions evolve.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Charles Schwab (SCHW) click here.