Charles Schwab Corp. said its fourth-quarter net income was flat from a year earlier, at $308 million, or 27 cents a share, as an increase in brokerage accounts failed to offset a drop in net new accounts.
The earnings per share rose by a penny from a year earlier, as a result of a reduction in shares outstanding.
Revenue decreased 4.5%, to $1.28 billion, but the pretax margin rose 40 basis points, to 39.5%.
On average, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected the company to post earnings of 26 cents a share on revenue of $1.28 billion.
Total assets fell 21%, to $1.1 trillion, as a result of the stock market's drop in the last year. Active brokerage accounts and retirement plan participants increased 5% during the year.
Schwab has also been working to expand its banking operations. The number of banking accounts dropped 4.5% from a quarter earlier, to 318,000 accounts. Mortgages and home equity loans outstanding jumped 79% from a year earlier, to $5.9 billion, and during the fourth quarter Schwab originated $338 million of mortgages.
Last month Schwab said it would eliminate about 100 positions.
