TD Ameritrade 2Q profit rises 32 percent on trading activity

The Omaha-based company said it earned $186.7 million, or 31 cents per share, in the quarter that ended March 31. That's up from $141.1 million, or 23 cents per share, a year ago.

The company's earnings were in line with estimates from analysts polled by Thomson Financial. The analysts had expected earnings per share of 31 cents on average and revenue of $616.89 million.

Ameritrade says its revenue grew 19 percent, to $622.9 million, as it handled an average of 312,234 trades a day. In the same quarter a year ago, Ameritrade averaged 253,361 trades a day.

The heavy trading boosted Ameritrade's transaction-based fees 25 percent, to $244.9 million.

But the broker also increased its asset-based revenue 15 percent, to $371.6 million. Ameritrade's asset-based revenue reflects money earned on deposit accounts and various investment products.

Banc of America Securities analyst Michael Hecht said the growth in transaction-based revenue and the 154,000 net new accounts at Ameritrade during the quarter helped the broker.

"With many other financial services companies reporting poor results, we expect a positive reaction to this morning's results," Hecht said in a research note.

But Ameritrade's shares slipped 8 cents to close Thursday at $17.50.

Ameritrade CEO Joe Moglia said he's proud of what his company accomplished during a quarter in which Wall Street dealt with the ongoing credit crisis and the U.S. economy faltered.