TD Ameritrade Jumps on Boosted Outlook

Shares of TD Ameritrade (AMTD) gained 4.4% in extended trading Tuesday after the online broker boosted its Q1 EPS guidance to about $0.39 from a previous range of $0.27 to $0.33. Analysts had been expecting EPS of $0.32. TD Ameritrade also reported a record 339,000 average client trades/day for November, up 37% from a year ago. The figure just beat Sandler O'Neill analyst Richard Repetto's estimate of flat m/m average trades at 336,000. Client assets totaled $301 billion at month's end, down 4% from $313B in October.

Rival Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) posted similar numbers last week: average daily client trades rose about 36% to 344,400 in November, while total client assets fell about 3%. Troubled competitor E*Trade (ETFC), by comparison, recently said average trades were 238,000 and that client assets were down 15% to Nov. 27. At the time, some analysts said TD Ameritrade and Schwab should benefit from clients leaving E*Trade. TD Ameritrade has offered new customers a $300 cash bonus offer for transferring from another broker. It uses the following pitch: "Simply put, TD Ameritrade doesn't own subprime securities, period."

Sources: Press release, Reuters
Additional Reading: TD Ameritrade Kicks E*Trade While It's Down • TD AMERITRADE F4Q07 Earnings Call Transcript

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