Charles Schwab Shares Gain After Profit, Revenue Top Expectations

Shares of Charles Schwab gained 0.9% in premarket trade after the discount broker reported better-than-expected third-quarter results. Profit for the quarter ended Sept. 30 rose to $321 million, or 24 cents a share, from $290 million, or 22 cents a share in the year-earlier period. Excluding non-recurring items, earnings per share would have been 25 cents, topping the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of 24 cents. Revenue rose 13% from last year to $1.55 billion, above analyst forecasts of $1.5 billion. Net new assets during the quarter totaled $34.7 billion, bringing total client assets to $2.4 trillion. "Against a backdrop of heightened market volatility during the quarter, we saw increased utilization of the help and advice available through Schwab...," said Chief Executive Walt Bettinger. The stock has lost 18% since closing at a 13-year high of $30.78 on Sept. 18 through Tuesday, and is now down 2.8% year to date, compared with a 1.6% gain in the S&P 500.