TD Ameritrade Doubles Q1 Profit, Beats Market Expectation

Online brokerage firm TD Ameritrade has doubled its profits in the first quarter of the 2018-19 fiscal year, according to the company's earnings report.

In the quarter ending on December 31, 2018, the company posted an earning of $604 million, or $1.07 per share, up from $297 million, or 52 cents per share, a year ago in the same quarter. After a one-time cost adjustment of the earnings, the reported profits stand at $1.11 per share, a much higher number than the street expectation of $1.01 per share.

The net revenue of the firm also surged significantly to $1.52 billion - a 21 percent increase - which also surpassed the FactSet’s prediction of $1.49 billion.

The Omaha-based company also handled an average of 927,849 trades per day during the quarter and trading topped one million trades in 14 days. Last year, this figure was at an average of 726,438 trades per day.

“Investor sentiment shifted in the quarter as anxiety, and macroeconomic uncertainty started moving the markets, underscoring the importance of our client-centric value proposition,” said Tim Hockey, president and CEO of TD Ameritrade.

The filing also showed a 22 percent increase in the commission and transaction fees to $537 million. This is the largest revenue generator for the company.

“Times like these are when our clients need us most, and when they’re most likely to turn to our award-winning investor education. It’s little surprise then that the number of clients accessing our education increased by more than 60 percent from last year,” Hockey added.

Trading on Social Media

The brokerage firm is pushing to expand trading through social media platforms. Last month, it introduced a WeChat-powered content service in the United States which allows investors to research, access market information, and get support through the messaging platform. The same year, the company also extended its trading support on Twitter.

“The power, scale and diversity of our business model were on display this quarter as we drove strong results, with pre-tax margins of 51 percent, in a volatile market,” said Steve Boyle, executive VP and CFO at TD Ameritrade.

“We have a strong balance sheet and profitability that allow us to fund our strong growth while continuing to deliver significant returns to our shareholders. It’s a good way to start the year – with plenty of opportunities to deliver on our goals and drive value for our clients, employees and shareholders. Looking ahead to the remainder of 2019, we will remain focused on those things we can control, particularly maintaining organic growth and building our long-term earnings power.”