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Non-Tech : E*Trade (NYSE:ET) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sly_ who wrote (10283)	12/29/1999 7:14:00 PM
From: Spytrdr	Respond to of 13953

[B] Schwab CFO sees 15% profit margin in Q4 on heavy trading vol By Cameron Dueck, Bridge News New York--Dec 29--Charles Schwab Corp. announced on Wednesday that its fourth-quarter earnings and revenue figures will come in above analyst estimates due to increased trading activities. Chris Dodds, chief financial officer of the firm, said the firm expects profit margins to be near 15%, exceeding the average margins the firm has seen in the past. * * * Dodds said Schwab expects to see a 15% after-tax profit margin in the fourth quarter, compared with the 13% average over the past several years, and exceeding market expectations for the quarter. Dodds said average trades per day reached 203,000 in November, and this number is expected to reach 236,000 in December, compared with 208,000 per day in April of 1999, the last time market activity reached a fevered pitch such as this. Dodds attributed the increase in trading volumes in part to the seasonal trend for higher volumes in December and the relief that Y2K concerns have so far been minimal, as well as the explosive growth in stock market values in recent months. "But a larger factor is the demographics of the US investor base, and the increasing knowledge and comprehension of investing," Dodds said. "People are recognizing that they have to do more investing themselves." He said increased trading volumes are playing the lead role in Schwab's strong performance in the fourth quarter, although growing assets and account numbers are also important. "We saw net new assets of $9.5 billion in November, which is the second best month after April, and we're confident December will be a strong number as well." While a market downturn would likely slow account and asset growth as well as trading activity on the short-term, Dodds said the long-term trend is "healthy." Dodds said Schwab's international operations in Canada, the UK and Hong Kong have also seen a strong quarter, although growth has been slower than in the US. "Chances are that if the asset growth is as rapid as it is, and our other significant source of revenues besides commissions is mutual funds and other cash balance accounts, we'll be seeing strong growth across the board," he said. End Bridge News, Tel: (212) 372-7569 Send comments to: equity@bridge.com For charts and historical stories on this company, double-click the following: (BridgeStation and Telerate only): First Call Consensus Earnings Estimate Media://Analytics/Pages:SCH-Earnings-Estimate:/cmd=US;SCH/CF/EST 60-day Price History Media://Analytics/Pages:SCH-Price-History:/cmd=US;SCH[1099ID;60;20]/NVO Two-day intraday price chart Media://Analytics/Pages:SCH-intraday:/cmd=US;SCH[7334ID2] Trailing 12 months Earnings per Share Media://Analytics/Pages:SCH-EPS:/cmd=US;SCH[1584EPS] News stories on this company from Bridge News Media://NewsSearch::/Source=[B]/Symbol=US;SCH/go/newest/Search News stories from all vendors Media://NewsSearch::/Symbol=US;SCH/go/Search Bridge News, Tel: (212) 372-7569 Send comments to Internet address: equity@bridge.com [symbols:US;AMTD:US;DIR:US;EGRP:US;NDB:US;NITE:US;SCH:US;TWE] [symbols:US;AMTD:US;DIR:US;EGRP:US;NDB:US;NITE:US;SCH:US;TWE] Dec-29-1999 18:21 GMT Symbols: US;AMTD US;DIR US;EGRP US;NDB US;NITE US;SCH US;TWE Source [B] BridgeNews Global Markets Categories: B/BRK I/BAN I/BNK I/FIS I/INF I/INL I/INP I/ISP I/NET I/SCR R/NME R/US S/BBE S/BCE S/ERN S/ERP S/NET S/ONF S/ONH S/STK CAP/STOCKS CAP/BANK CAP/INDEX