SCHW vs IBKR Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Charles Schwab and Interactive Brokers are both brokerage leaders but serve different client segments with different revenue models. Schwab is the mass-market retail brokerage giant earning primarily through client cash sweep spreads; IBKR is a technology-first brokerage for active traders and advisors earning through margin lending and commissions. Schwab is more exposed to interest rate headwinds; IBKR is more exposed to trading volume cycles.
The choice between SCHW and IBKR depends on an investor's view on interest rates and brokerage activity levels — Schwab benefits most from higher rates and asset-gathering, while Interactive Brokers benefits most from higher trading volumes and margin lending demand.
IBKR holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. IBKR has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+41.77% vs +13.62%), though SCHW has the better forward P/E setup (14.11x vs 27.98x for IBKR). IBKR leads on both revenue growth (26.30%) and operating margin (76.53%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for IBKR (+18.82%) than for SCHW (+13.43%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- want the largest US retail brokerage franchise with $8T+ in client assets
- believe rates will remain elevated, supporting Schwab's NII-driven revenue model
- value the breadth of Schwab's financial services platform including banking and asset management
- prefer steady asset-gathering compounding over trading-activity-dependent revenue
- prefer a technology-driven brokerage with superior execution and global market access
- want exposure to margin lending and active trading revenue streams
- value the rapidly growing RIA custodian platform and international client expansion
- are comfortable with founder-controlled governance in exchange for unique competitive positioning
| Metric | SCHW | IBKR |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 53.2 | 66.8 |
| AI ranki | #350 | #64 |
| Latest closei | $104.63 | $88.38 |
| 1M returni | -6.31% | -2.41% |
| 6M returni | +11.32% | +30.57% |
| 1Y returni | +13.62% | +41.77% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | SCHW | IBKR |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $11.22K (+12.2%) started 2025-09-18 | $13.61K (+36.1%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | $16.87K (+68.7%) started 2021-09-20 | $59.26K (+492.6%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $42.69K (+326.9%) started 2016-09-19 | $99.28K (+892.8%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | SCHW | IBKR |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $190.5B | $151.62B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 20.07 | 35.31 |
| Forward P/Ei | 14.11 | 27.98 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 6.77 | -4.06 |
| Analyst targeti | $124.95 | $105.74 |
| Target upsidei | +13.43% | +18.82% |
| Metric | SCHW | IBKR |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 20.90% | 26.30% |
| Earnings growthi | 42.60% | 35.30% |
| EPS growthi | +42.60% | +35.30% |
| FCF margini | N/A | N/A |
| Operating margini | 52.28% | 76.53% |
| Profit margini | 38.79% | 16.47% |
| ROIC proxyi | 20.27% | 24.02% |
| Return on equityi | 20.27% | 24.02% |
| Dividend yieldi | 1.16% | 0.39% |
| Payout ratioi | 21.49% | 13.00% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | N/A |
| Betai | 0.75 | 1.34 |
| Debt/equityi | 151.11 | 205.75 |
| Current ratioi | 0.66 | 1.09 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.66 | 1.09 |
Over the past year, SCHW and IBKR have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.40), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | SCHW | IBKR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +12.17% | +36.14% |
| CAGRi | +12.18% | +36.17% | |
| Volatilityi | 24.65% | 39.43% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.41 | 0.87 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.54 | 1.32 | |
| Max drawdowni | 20.39% | 18.78% | |
| Current drawdowni | 7.94% | 9.99% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 7.03% | 6.12% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 9.20% | 7.71% | |
| Max daily dropi | 7.63% | 7.79% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 13.18% | 11.20% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +60.09% | +492.56% |
| CAGRi | +9.88% | +42.80% | |
| Volatilityi | 31.99% | 35.44% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.32 | 1.06 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.44 | 1.57 | |
| Max drawdowni | 49.70% | 38.74% | |
| Current drawdowni | 7.94% | 9.99% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 18.54% | 9.03% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 22.88% | 12.63% | |
| Max daily dropi | 12.77% | 13.01% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 32.23% | 17.05% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +279.08% | +892.75% |
| CAGRi | +14.26% | +25.81% | |
| Volatilityi | 33.08% | 33.71% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.43 | 0.72 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.62 | 1.05 | |
| Max drawdowni | 51.08% | 55.73% | |
| Current drawdowni | 7.94% | 9.99% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 17.06% | 15.58% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 21.81% | 21.07% | |
| Max daily dropi | 12.77% | 13.01% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 32.23% | 19.03% |
| Category | SCHW | IBKR |
|---|---|---|
| Company | The Charles Schwab Corporation | Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. |
| Sector | Financial Services | Financial Services |
| Industry | Capital Markets | Capital Markets |
| Core business | Charles Schwab is the largest US retail brokerage by client assets, generating the majority of its revenue from net interest income on client cash held in sweep accounts and from its bank subsidiary. Following the TD Ameritrade acquisition, Schwab manages over $8 trillion in client assets and operates a full-service financial services platform including ETFs, robo-advisory, wealth management, and banking. Its asset-gathering model depends on retaining client cash balances at Schwab Bank. | Interactive Brokers is a technology-focused brokerage serving active traders, hedge funds, and increasingly registered investment advisors and retail investors globally. Unlike Schwab's cash-spread model, IBKR earns revenue from commissions, margin lending interest, and currency exchange on a highly automated, low-cost platform. The IBKR Pro platform is favored by sophisticated traders for its execution quality and global market access; IBKR Lite serves retail clients with zero-commission trading. |
| Investor focus | Investors track net interest margin (NIM) sensitivity to interest rates — Schwab earns more on client cash when rates are high — client asset net flows, and the pace of cash sorting (clients moving cash from sweep to higher-yield alternatives like money market funds). | Investors track margin loan balances (IBKR earns spread on margin lending to active traders), daily average revenue trades (DARTs), client equity growth, and the global expansion of the RIA custodian business. |
- Largest US retail brokerage with $8T+ in client assets creating a massive, sticky revenue base
- TD Ameritrade integration completed, achieving cost synergies while expanding the client base
- Schwab Asset Management provides fee-based revenue via ETFs independent of interest rates
- Technology-driven platform with best-in-class execution quality attracts high-value active traders
- Margin lending provides an interest rate-sensitive revenue stream that benefits in high-rate environments
- Global market access in 150+ markets differentiates IBKR from domestically focused US brokers
- NII is highly sensitive to interest rate cuts, which reduce the yield on client cash sweep balances
- Client cash sorting — moving to higher-yield money market funds — compresses net interest income
- Balance sheet complexity from the TD Ameritrade integration and bank subsidiary
- Revenue is more tied to trading activity which can be volatile across market regimes
- Lower brand recognition than Schwab limits mass-market retail growth
- Founder-controlled structure with Thomas Peterffy holding majority voting control
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