Charles Schwab Talks Big -- Delivers Not Big

Charles Schwab (SCHW) came out with a three tier press release designed to pump up the market. Chairman Chuck leads off by saying that investors can depend on Schwab. CEO Walt Bettinger drills down and says that investors have not given up on the market and are working with Charles Schwab. We finally get to CFO Joe Martinetto who reports that “Q3 revenues were down 19% from the year-earlier period, reflecting the headwinds we’ve been discussing for some time.”

Everyone knows the markets are off. Depending on which range of products and services a firm offers you will either create wealth or destroy wealth over the long run. It sounds like the top guys want to beat their drum while the CFO has to report lower earnings. The message is cloudy and therefore will disappoint investors. Management needs to be true to themselves first.