E*Trade Financial Corp (ETFC) late Thursday posted better than expected first quarter earnings results, as it successfully navigated through an increasingly competitive brokerage landscape.

Written by StockNews.com

The New York City-based online brokerage reported:

• Q1 earnings per share (EPS) of $0.48, which was $0.09 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $0.39.
• Revenues rose 17% from last year to $553 million, also topping analysts’ view for $532.43 million...
• Daily Average Revenue Trades (DARTs) were 207,000 in the latest period, with 29% of those coming in derivatives markets.

The company commented via press release:

“Amidst a period of extraordinary and intensifying competition, we produced record growth in brokerage assets, and our strongest brokerage account growth in three years – well on pace to exceed our 2018 goals.

Meanwhile, we continued to put capital to work for shareholders, onboarding deposits and taking advantage of the strong rate environment to outpace our balance sheet growth targets.

While immensely gratifying to see the early benefits of our hard work to grow the business, we will not rest on our laurels. Specifically, we will remain steadfast in the integration of OptionsHouse to deliver a blockbuster customer experience, capitalize on our new creative agency to reinvigorate our iconic brand, and keep our team focused on continuing to deliver value for our customers and our shareholders.”

E*Trade Financial Corp shares rose $0.88 (+2.54%) in after-hours trading Thursday. Year-to-date, ETFC has declined -0.09%, versus a 5.74% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

ETFC currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of B (Buy), and is ranked #9 of 29 stocks in the Investment Brokerage category.