Electronic brokerage firm Interactive Brokers LLC (NASDAQ:IBKR) said its trading volumes shot higher in October from a month earlier, an indication that confidence by investors in the financial market is rebounding after being fairly mixed in the third quarter.
Rising Volatility has improved the trading volumes, with October data showing the second monthly rise in a row. But it is not clear whether that will be enough to accelerate the revenue growth after the company reported a modest increase in the third quarter, or how it could affect margins for the multi-asset broker and market-maker.
During October 2018, the number of DARTs was reported at 986,000, a rise of 22 percent month-over-month from 807,000 in September 2018. Over a year-on-year basis, Interactive Brokers saw a more upbeat performance in its DARTs with October’s figure jumping approximately 41 percent relative to 698,000 reported in October 2017.
In terms of equity balance in customers’ accounts during October 2018, the figure totaled $133.9 billion, down by six percent year-on-year from $142.5 billion the previous month. However, Interactive Brokers bested its October 2018 equivalent, having notched an 11 advance relative to the figures of the prior month.
Business Highlights
Interactive Brokers’ ending client margin loan balances also came in at $50.9 billion in October 2018, almost unchanged month-on-month from $50.8 billion in September 2018. Across a yearly interval, the figure moved higher by 7 percent when weighed against $48 billion in October 2017.
Business highlights, according to the company’s press release, also showed that a total of 585,000 customer accounts were active at IB during October 2018. The figure was higher by two percent month-on-month when compared to September 2018 (575.600 accounts), and 26.0 percent higher year-on-year from 464,500 accounts.
On average, in October 2018 Interactive Brokers charged clients commission fees of $3.79 per order, including Exchange , clearing and regulatory fees, with the key products metrics coming out at $2.24 for stocks, $5.46 for equity options and $6.16 for futures orders.
The Greenwich, Connecticut-based company reported earlier this month that its net revenues for Q3 2018 amounted to $439 million, higher by 3.5 percent compared with $426 million in the same period last year. Income before tax totaled $276 million, up 2.9 percent year-over-year (from $268 million).
