Charles Schwab Reports In Line 1Q EPS, But Revenue Tops

Charles Schwab Corp

reported 36% jump in its net income for the first quarter to $412 million from $302 million in the year-ago quarter. Similarly, its EPS also climbed 32% to 29 cents a share from 22 cents a share in the comparable period of the last year. Street analysts expected the company to report earnings of 29 cents a share. Charles Schwab said that its revenues advanced 16% to $1.76 billion from $1.53 billion in the previous year quarter. Analysts predicted the company to generate $1.75 billion revenue for the March quarter. The company's CEO, Walt Bettinger, reacted to the results by saying that "Through periods of volatility, we continue to see strong client engagement and demand for Schwab's contemporary, full-service wealth management capabilities. Investors faced sharp market swings during the first quarter, as the major equity indices fell by double-digit percentages and subsequently recovered." Bettinger further stated that "Clients consistently turn to us for help navigating conditions like these – over 33,000 accounts enrolled in one of our retail advisory solutions during the quarter, comparable to the fourth quarter 2015 total. At March-end, 567,000 accounts were enrolled in a Schwab® advice program, up 11% year-over-year. In addition, our financial consultants held 34,000 planning conversations during the quarter, up 36%." On Friday, Shares of the company traded higher by 0.28%.