Ameritrade Meets Lowered Estimates

Earnings Scorecard
Actual	Estimated*	Year-Ago
-$0.13	-$0.13	-$0.12

Shares of online brokerage firm Ameritrade(AMTD Quote) were lately trading up 5.4% at $10.31, despite the company's announcement this morning that first-quarter earnings met recently lowered analysts' expectations.

The Omaha, Neb., company posted a loss of 13 cents a share for the first fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a loss of 12 cents a share in the same period one year before. The loss agreed with analysts' expectations for the quarter, which have dropped considerably since last week's projections.

Ameritrade said the recent Nasdaq slump and the long-drawn-out decline in technology stocks over recent months were to blame for widening losses. Total revenue for the quarter rose to $148.2 million from $131.2 million a year ago.

Online brokerages such as Ameritrade rely on stock market transactions for their revenue, and so are particularly vulnerable to a drop in the market. The company now expects net revenue of $115 million to $138 million for the fiscal second quarter ending in March, along with revenue of $570 million to $650 million for fiscal 2001.

Knight Trading(NITE Quote) this morning said it earned $35.3 million, or 28 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, which was better than analysts expected.