Schwab Move To Ft Worth Update -- December 2, 2019

I still think this will be one of the bigger 2019 business stories -- Top national non-energy story, from week #47:

• Schwab moving out of California; moving to Texas; here; and, here;

Now an update from DallasBizJournal, said with a straight face, "finances were not a big driver in decision to move HQ to north Texas."

The Charles Schwab Corp. may be moving from San Francisco to North Texas, but a key executive doesn’t want you to think it’s all about saving money. [He said with a straight face. Perhaps it also has to do with quality of live.]

The discount brokerage announced last week plans to move its headquarters from California to Westlake, northwest of Dallas, after it closes its planned acquisition of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. Both companies [each] already have more than 4,000 employees locally.

During a call following the announcement, an analyst asked how Schwab thinks about relocation and its connection to cost savings and tax rates – factors that are cited as advantages for Texas businesses. The planned deal is set to bolster earnings.

“I wouldn’t think of the eventual headquarters move to Texas as being a big driver from a financial standpoint,” Chief Financial Officer Peter Crawford said. “It’s really more a reflection of the reality today, which is that we have a large campus in the Westlake area. TD Ameritrade has a large campus in the Southlake area. We have opportunity for expansion there.” [He said with a straight face.]

He said the company will continue to have a large presence in San Francisco, consistent with where it’s at today.

Yet more folks should be coming to the North Texas locale in the future.

“As we look over the next four or five-plus years, that is a location where we will be likely adding a significant number and certainly ... a more significant percentage of our staff,” Crawford said.

Schwab is joining other companies that are relocating to – or expanding in – North Texas as more companies look for ways to save money and find more talent.

Some 660 companies moved 765 facilities out of California in the past two years, and Dallas-Fort Worth has been the beneficiary of many of the relocations -- previously reported/posted.

Earlier this year, McKesson, a pharmaceuticals and health care supplies provider, moved its headquarters from San Francisco to Irving. At the time of the announcement last year, John H. Hammergren, McKesson’s then-CEO, pointed to reasons that included spending in a prepared statement.

My hunch: Schwab was having trouble competing for talent, competing with the likes of Apple and dozens of other tech companies.