Seek Returns

BAC vs. SCHW: Bank of America vs. Charles Schwab Stock Comparison

How do Bank of America (BAC) and Charles Schwab (SCHW) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Bank of America (BAC) and Charles Schwab (SCHW) share the Financials sector but sit in different industry groups — BAC in Banks and SCHW in Financial Services.

Company profile comparison for Bank of America (BAC) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
Profile ItemBACSCHW
NameBank of America CorporationThe Charles Schwab Corporation
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorFinancialsFinancials
GICS Industry GroupBanksFinancial Services
GICS IndustryBanksCapital Markets
GICS Sub-IndustryDiversified BanksInvestment Banking & Brokerage
Market Capitalization341.01 billion USD158.22 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENYSE
Listing DateFebruary 21, 1973September 22, 1987
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

BAC
SCHW
GSPC
Loading price history…
Bank of America (BAC) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

Loading price history…
Trailing total returns for Bank of America (BAC) and Charles Schwab (SCHW). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…
Calendar-year total returns for Bank of America (BAC) and Charles Schwab (SCHW). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Bank of America (BAC) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricBACSCHW
Total Return (1Y)-2.73%-0.80%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)25.52%21.35%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)4.08%4.31%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

BAC
SCHW
GSPC
Loading price history…
Bank of America (BAC) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

Loading price history…
Distribution of monthly total returns for Bank of America (BAC) and Charles Schwab (SCHW). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Bank of America (BAC) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricBACSCHW
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)22.49%26.01%
Beta (5Y)1.180.74
Max Drawdown (5Y)-46.64%-49.70%
Avg. Volume (3M)37.08M8.22M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Loading chart…
BAC and SCHW are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. Each dashed Capital Allocation Line uses that stock's own industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Bank of America (BAC) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricBACSCHW
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)-0.31-0.20
Sortino Ratio (1Y)-0.41-0.26

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Bank of America (BAC) at 10.73% and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 21.12% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

BAC

Banks industry group

10.73%

Max
19.84%
Q3
13.67%
Median
11.49%
BAC
10.73%
Q1
9.50%
Min
3.64%

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

21.12%

Max
44.78%
Q3
21.85%
SCHW
21.12%
Median
12.91%
Q1
4.48%
Min
-18.71%
Loading chart…
Bank of America (BAC) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their ROE against their respective Banks and Financial Services industry group benchmarks.

Net Margin (TTM)

Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 39.33% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Bank of America (BAC) at 28.06%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

BAC

Banks industry group

28.06%

Max
47.19%
Q3
35.25%
Median
31.21%
BAC
28.06%
Q1
27.11%
Min
14.93%

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

39.33%

Max
62.84%
SCHW
39.33%
Q3
28.05%
Median
15.36%
Q1
4.82%
Min
-28.52%
Loading chart…
Bank of America (BAC) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their net margin against their respective Banks and Financial Services industry group benchmarks.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Charles Schwab (SCHW) reports operating margin of 52.67%; Bank of America (BAC) doesn’t report a comparable line — in Banks, funding costs sit inside the core business rather than below an operating line, so profitability is better judged on net margin or ROE.

BAC

Banks industry group

--

BAC
--
Max
--
Q3
--
Median
--
Q1
--
Min
--

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

52.67%

Max
107.33%
Q3
55.90%
SCHW
52.67%
Median
30.09%
Q1
14.60%
Min
-44.34%
Loading chart…
Bank of America (BAC) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): BAC’s operating margin is not assessed under the Banks industry convention, so the chart shows available visual context for SCHW only.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Bank of America (BAC) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricBACSCHW
ROE (TTM)10.73%21.12%
ROA (TTM)0.94%2.16%
Net Margin (TTM)28.06%39.33%
Operating Margin (TTM)--52.67%
Gross Margin (TTM)----

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Bank of America (BAC) at 6.84% and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 22.01% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Loading chart…
Bank of America (BAC) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 55.52% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Bank of America (BAC) at 18.69% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for SCHW.

Loading chart…
Bank of America (BAC) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Bank of America (BAC) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricBACSCHW
Revenue Growth (YoY)6.84%22.01%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)6.00%4.83%
EPS Growth (YoY)18.69%55.52%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)6.10%9.93%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Bank of America (BAC) in Banks and Charles Schwab (SCHW) in Financial Services both report balance sheets without a current/non-current split, so their short-term liquidity is better judged through regulatory and funding measures.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

debt-to-equity ratio is set aside for both: Bank of America (BAC) in Banks and Charles Schwab (SCHW) in Financial Services run businesses where balance-sheet leverage is part of the model, so capital-adequacy and funding measures are the better gauges of balance-sheet risk.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Bank of America (BAC) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricBACSCHW
Current Ratio (MRQ)----
Debt / Equity (MRQ)----
Net Debt / EBITDA----

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Bank of America (BAC) at 2.33% and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 1.33% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

BAC

Banks industry group

2.33%

Max
5.79%
Q3
3.18%
Median
2.39%
BAC
2.33%
Q1
1.20%
Min
0.00%

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

1.33%

Max
9.77%
Q3
3.92%
SCHW
1.33%
Median
1.09%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
Loading chart…
Bank of America (BAC) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their dividend yield against their respective Banks and Financial Services industry group benchmarks.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Bank of America (BAC) at 27.62% and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 21.03% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

BAC

Banks industry group

27.62%

Max
70.75%
Q3
41.28%
Median
29.26%
BAC
27.62%
Q1
18.98%
Min
0.00%

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

21.03%

Max
241.07%
Q3
97.36%
Median
25.77%
SCHW
21.03%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
Loading chart…
Bank of America (BAC) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their payout ratio against their respective Banks and Financial Services industry group benchmarks.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Bank of America (BAC) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricBACSCHW
Dividend Yield (TTM)2.33%1.33%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)27.62%21.03%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Bank of America (BAC) at 11.79 and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 15.64 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

BAC

Banks industry group

11.79

Max
18.16
Q3
13.75
Median
11.81
BAC
11.79
Q1
10.64
Min
6.49

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

15.64

Max
45.85
Q3
24.64
SCHW
15.64
Median
15.37
Q1
9.68
Min
0.16
Loading chart…
Bank of America (BAC) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their P/E ratio against their respective Banks and Financial Services industry group benchmarks.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Charles Schwab (SCHW) shows P/S ratio of 5.85; for Bank of America (BAC) the multiple is skipped — in Banks, income is dominated by interest spread rather than a conventional revenue line, so pricing per dollar of sales loses meaning and book- or earnings-based multiples carry the comparison.

BAC

Banks industry group

--

BAC
--
Max
--
Q3
--
Median
--
Q1
--
Min
--

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

5.85

Max
9.23
SCHW
5.85
Q3
4.57
Median
2.72
Q1
1.28
Min
-0.55
Loading chart…
Bank of America (BAC) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): BAC’s P/S ratio is not assessed under the Banks industry convention, so the chart shows available visual context for SCHW only.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

On P/B ratio, both Bank of America (BAC) at 1.26 and Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 3.08 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

BAC

Banks industry group

1.26

Max
2.28
Q3
1.58
Median
1.32
BAC
1.26
Q1
1.10
Min
0.59

SCHW

Financial Services industry group

3.08

Max
7.79
Q3
3.63
SCHW
3.08
Median
1.57
Q1
0.81
Min
-0.39
Loading chart…
Bank of America (BAC) vs. Charles Schwab (SCHW): A comparison of their P/B ratio against their respective Banks and Financial Services industry group benchmarks.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Bank of America (BAC) and Charles Schwab (SCHW)
MetricBACSCHW
P/E Ratio (TTM)11.7915.64
P/S Ratio (TTM)--5.85
P/B Ratio (MRQ)1.263.08
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)----