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SCHW vs. WFC: Charles Schwab vs. Wells Fargo Stock Comparison

How do Charles Schwab (SCHW) and Wells Fargo (WFC) 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

Charles Schwab (SCHW) and Wells Fargo (WFC) share the Financials sector but sit in different industry groups — SCHW in Financial Services and WFC in Banks.

Company profile comparison for Charles Schwab (SCHW) and Wells Fargo (WFC)
Profile ItemSCHWWFC
NameThe Charles Schwab CorporationWells Fargo & Company
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorFinancialsFinancials
GICS Industry GroupFinancial ServicesBanks
GICS IndustryCapital MarketsBanks
GICS Sub-IndustryInvestment Banking & BrokerageDiversified Banks
Market Capitalization158.22 billion USD251.98 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENYSE
Listing DateSeptember 22, 1987June 1, 1972
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

SCHW
WFC
GSPC
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Charles Schwab (SCHW) vs. Wells Fargo (WFC), 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

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Trailing total returns for Charles Schwab (SCHW) and Wells Fargo (WFC). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Charles Schwab (SCHW) and Wells Fargo (WFC). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Charles Schwab (SCHW) and Wells Fargo (WFC)
MetricSCHWWFC
Total Return (1Y)-0.80%2.40%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)21.35%31.75%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)4.31%14.35%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

SCHW
WFC
GSPC
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Charles Schwab (SCHW) vs. Wells Fargo (WFC), 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

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Charles Schwab (SCHW) and Wells Fargo (WFC). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Charles Schwab (SCHW) and Wells Fargo (WFC)
MetricSCHWWFC
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)26.01%26.11%
Beta (5Y)0.740.91
Max Drawdown (5Y)-49.70%-37.10%
Avg. Volume (3M)8.22M14.10M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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SCHW and WFC 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 Charles Schwab (SCHW) and Wells Fargo (WFC)
MetricSCHWWFC
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)-0.20-0.07
Sortino Ratio (1Y)-0.26-0.10

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 21.12% and Wells Fargo (WFC) at 12.91% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

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%

WFC

Banks industry group

12.91%

Max
19.84%
Q3
13.67%
WFC
12.91%
Median
11.49%
Q1
9.50%
Min
3.64%
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Charles Schwab (SCHW) vs. Wells Fargo (WFC): A comparison of their ROE against their respective Financial Services and Banks industry group benchmarks.

Net Margin (TTM)

Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 39.33% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Wells Fargo (WFC) at 27.64%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

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%

WFC

Banks industry group

27.64%

Max
47.19%
Q3
35.25%
Median
31.21%
WFC
27.64%
Q1
27.11%
Min
14.93%
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Charles Schwab (SCHW) vs. Wells Fargo (WFC): A comparison of their net margin against their respective Financial Services and Banks industry group benchmarks.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Charles Schwab (SCHW) reports operating margin of 52.67%; Wells Fargo (WFC) 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.

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%

WFC

Banks industry group

--

WFC
--
Max
--
Q3
--
Median
--
Q1
--
Min
--
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Charles Schwab (SCHW) vs. Wells Fargo (WFC): WFC’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 Charles Schwab (SCHW) and Wells Fargo (WFC)
MetricSCHWWFC
ROE (TTM)21.12%12.91%
ROA (TTM)2.16%1.08%
Net Margin (TTM)39.33%27.64%
Operating Margin (TTM)52.67%--
Gross Margin (TTM)----

Growth

Revenue Growth

Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 22.01% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Wells Fargo (WFC) at 1.70% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

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Charles Schwab (SCHW) vs. Wells Fargo (WFC): 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 Wells Fargo (WFC) at 16.57% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for SCHW.

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Charles Schwab (SCHW) vs. Wells Fargo (WFC): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Charles Schwab (SCHW) and Wells Fargo (WFC)
MetricSCHWWFC
Revenue Growth (YoY)22.01%1.70%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)4.83%4.02%
EPS Growth (YoY)55.52%16.57%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)9.93%25.86%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: Charles Schwab (SCHW) in Financial Services and Wells Fargo (WFC) in Banks 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: Charles Schwab (SCHW) in Financial Services and Wells Fargo (WFC) in Banks 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 Charles Schwab (SCHW) and Wells Fargo (WFC)
MetricSCHWWFC
Current Ratio (MRQ)----
Debt / Equity (MRQ)----
Net Debt / EBITDA----

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 1.33% and Wells Fargo (WFC) at 2.19% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

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%

WFC

Banks industry group

2.19%

Max
5.79%
Q3
3.18%
Median
2.39%
WFC
2.19%
Q1
1.20%
Min
0.00%
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Charles Schwab (SCHW) vs. Wells Fargo (WFC): A comparison of their dividend yield against their respective Financial Services and Banks industry group benchmarks.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 21.03% and Wells Fargo (WFC) at 26.09% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

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%

WFC

Banks industry group

26.09%

Max
70.75%
Q3
41.28%
Median
29.26%
WFC
26.09%
Q1
18.98%
Min
0.00%
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Charles Schwab (SCHW) vs. Wells Fargo (WFC): A comparison of their payout ratio against their respective Financial Services and Banks industry group benchmarks.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Charles Schwab (SCHW) and Wells Fargo (WFC)
MetricSCHWWFC
Dividend Yield (TTM)1.33%2.19%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)21.03%26.09%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 15.64 and Wells Fargo (WFC) at 11.84 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

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

WFC

Banks industry group

11.84

Max
18.16
Q3
13.75
WFC
11.84
Median
11.81
Q1
10.64
Min
6.49
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Charles Schwab (SCHW) vs. Wells Fargo (WFC): A comparison of their P/E ratio against their respective Financial Services and Banks industry group benchmarks.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Charles Schwab (SCHW) shows P/S ratio of 5.85; for Wells Fargo (WFC) 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.

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

WFC

Banks industry group

--

WFC
--
Max
--
Q3
--
Median
--
Q1
--
Min
--
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Charles Schwab (SCHW) vs. Wells Fargo (WFC): WFC’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)

Charles Schwab (SCHW) at 3.08 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Wells Fargo (WFC) at 1.59 carries an above-peer premium to book — WFC is pricier on assets.

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

WFC

Banks industry group

1.59

Max
2.28
WFC
1.59
Q3
1.58
Median
1.32
Q1
1.10
Min
0.59
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Charles Schwab (SCHW) vs. Wells Fargo (WFC): A comparison of their P/B ratio against their respective Financial Services and Banks industry group benchmarks.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Charles Schwab (SCHW) and Wells Fargo (WFC)
MetricSCHWWFC
P/E Ratio (TTM)15.6411.84
P/S Ratio (TTM)5.85--
P/B Ratio (MRQ)3.081.59
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)----