Charles Schwab reported client margin loan balances of $187.9B at the end of the third quarter of 2026, a company record, alongside net revenues of $7.2B.
The brokerage's core net new assets reached a quarterly record of $190.4B, up 38% from a year earlier. Total client assets rose 15% to $13.33T, and adjusted earnings came in at $1.69 per share, up 29% year over year.
Margin loans are money clients borrow against their portfolios to buy more securities. Schwab's balance jumped 93% from the prior year.
The borrowing surge has an asterisk
Of the margin total, $60.7B came from long/short strategies run by registered investment advisers, a hedging technique rather than a straight leveraged bet.
Strip those out and margin debt growth slows to 24% since December 2025.
Pledged Asset Line balances, loans backed by portfolios but not used to buy securities, climbed 59% year over year to $37.3B.
Schwab Q3 2026 actual vs analyst estimate (reported Oct. 2026)
| Metric | Analyst Estimate | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Adjusted EPS (USD) | 1.66 | 1.69 |
| Net revenues (USD B) | 7.19 | 7.2 |
| Total client assets (USD T) | 13.35 | 13.33 |
The trend extends well beyond one brokerage. Market-wide margin debt tracked by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority hit a record $1.50T in June 2026, or 4.6% of annual gross domestic product, the highest since 1997.
Measured against the total value of US corporate equities, borrowing sits at 1.21%, in line with 2021 and below the 2000 and 2007 peaks.
Lending is now a core earnings engine
More borrowing means more interest income, and net interest revenue rose 14% in the quarter alongside asset management fees.
Schwab posted a 25% return on equity and a 54.8% adjusted pre-tax margin, with an adjusted Tier 1 leverage ratio of 7.0%.
By August 2026, margin loans had already reached $177.6B, up 92% from a year earlier, with net interest margin at 3% the prior quarter.
Bank of America kept an Underperform rating on the stock with a $95 price target.
Chief Executive Rick Wurster pointed to wealth advisory net flows, which grew 55% year over year.
"Deeper client engagement across trading and wealth management."
Mike Verdeschi, Charles Schwab
The company rolled out an artificial intelligence assistant called Charley and added single stock futures on its thinkorswim platform. Zacks had projected daily average trades of 10.48M for the quarter.
