: Schwab reportedly laid off up to 2,000 employees; analyst reiterates outperform

Charles Schwab Corp.’s stock SCHW fell 0.5% on Wednesday on the heels of a report by RIABiz that the broker has laid off up to 2,000 employees this week as part of a previously disclosed effort to save $500 million in the second half of the year. William Blair analyst Jeff Schmitt reiterated an outperform rating on Schwab “due to the potential for a significant rebound in EPS in 2024 and 2025 as cash sorting abates, short-term funding costs decline, client cash stabilizes, organic growth returns to historic levels and share buybacks reemerge,” Schmitt said in a research note on Tuesday. Key risks include higher-than-expected cash sorting — moving money into higher interest-bearing accounts — as well as integration risks from its TD Ameritrade acquisition and regulatory reforms such as changes to payment for order flow and a near-term shift in the Fed’s interest rate policy to easing. A Schwab spokesperson did not immediately reply to an email from MarketWatch. Ahead of Wednesday’s trades, Schwab stock was down 37.5% in 2023, compared to a 9.2% rise by the S&P 500 SPX.

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