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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsCompare brokerage stocks by matching each company’s reported interest-related and trading-related revenue for the same fiscal period, then tracing the client cash and other balances behind those figures. Labels such as “net interest revenue,” “net interest income,” and “interest revenues” do not necessarily cover the same activities, so raw figures alone cannot establish which broker earns more from comparable sources.
How do brokerage firms make money from cash balances?
A broker may earn interest from customer margin loans, cash held or swept into bank deposits, segregated cash and securities, corporate investments, or other balances. The mix depends on the company’s business structure and the accounting categories it reports. Customer cash is not automatically a single pool that all firms hold or monetize in the same way.
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Schwab says uninvested client cash held on its balance sheet is a primary funding source for interest-earning assets. Its annual report identifies net interest revenue, asset-management and administration fees, trading revenue, and bank deposit account fees among its largest revenue sources. Schwab’s 2025 annual report therefore connects cash location and funding with the firm’s broader revenue mix.
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Robinhood describes interest revenues from several sources, including margin loans, segregated cash, cash equivalents and securities, deposits with clearing organizations, corporate cash and investments, Cash Sweep, and carried customer credit card balances. It reports transaction-based and other revenues separately. Robinhood’s 2025 Form 10-K illustrates why an issuer’s interest-revenue label should be read alongside its explanation of the balances that generate it.
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How much of a broker’s revenue comes from trading?
Trading-related revenue can include commissions, transaction-based revenue, or execution and clearing fees, depending on the issuer’s business model and disclosures. A comparison should also account for related expenses where disclosed: gross trading revenue does not by itself show the cost of executing or clearing transactions.
Interactive Brokers discusses net interest income on customer balances separately from execution, clearing, and distribution fees. Its 2025 Form 10-K reports $420 million in execution, clearing, and distribution fees for the year and discusses exchange-fee and clearing-fee drivers. Those fee labels are not automatically equivalent to another broker’s “trading revenue” category. Interactive Brokers’ 2025 Form 10-K is the place to check the company’s definitions and drivers.
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What does a same-company comparison show?
Schwab’s full-year results offer a useful example of comparing like with like within one issuer. The Charles Schwab Corporation reported:
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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →| Reported category | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Net interest revenue | $9.144 billion | $11.750 billion |
| Trading revenue | $3.264 billion | $3.921 billion |
These are Schwab’s reported figures for the stated full years, published in its 2026 results announcement. They illustrate year-over-year movement in two categories at the same company; they are not industry averages and should not be treated as directly comparable to another issuer’s differently defined line items. Schwab’s 2025 full-year results provide the figures.
How to compare brokerage stocks without mixing unlike figures
- Choose a consistent period. Use the same fiscal year for every company, preferably full-year figures rather than a mix of annual and quarterly results.
- Start with reported categories. From each issuer’s income statement and revenue discussion, record the interest-related line, trading-related line, and other material revenue categories. Preserve each company’s own labels.
- Trace the balances behind interest revenue. Use the notes and management discussion to identify whether interest comes from client cash or sweep deposits, segregated cash and securities, margin lending, corporate cash, securities lending, or other disclosed assets and funding items.
- Check the trading economics. Look for commissions or transaction-based revenue, execution and clearing costs, and principal activity where the company discloses them.
- Measure mix within each company. Calculate each category’s share using that issuer’s total revenue for the same reporting period. Keep the company’s definitions attached to the result; a similar percentage does not make the underlying categories equivalent.
- Read year-over-year movement with management’s explanation. Interest revenue may change with both rates and the amount or type of balances. Trading-related revenue can have different drivers, so do not infer a common cause from the direction of change alone.
- Check comparability before ranking. Note accounting definitions, company structure, reporting period, and any reclassifications. Explain material differences before comparing raw amounts.
Why cash-balance league tables can mislead
“Cash balance” can refer to different things: customer cash swept to bank deposits, cash held on a broker’s balance sheet, segregated customer funds, or corporate cash and investments. A figure may describe a balance rather than revenue, and the company may earn interest on only some of the balance categories it discusses. A cross-company table is meaningful only after the categories, definitions, and periods have been reconciled.
The reviewed company filings use distinct labels and describe different sources of interest revenue. Schwab’s discussion of uninvested client cash as funding for interest-earning assets, Robinhood’s list of multiple interest sources, and Interactive Brokers’ separate discussion of customer-balance interest and execution, clearing, and distribution fees are useful starting points—not proof that the companies’ totals represent the same economics.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What this comparison can—and cannot—tell you
Revenue mix and cash disclosures help explain how a brokerage business earns money and which balance categories matter to its interest economics. They do not, by themselves, establish whether a stock is attractively valued, suitable for a particular investor, or likely to perform well. Treat company-reported categories as business disclosures, not as a recommendation or a ranking of brokerage accounts.
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