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AG Edwards Net Rises 50%

Matthew Goldstein

Profits at AG Edwards(AGE Quote) rose 50% in the first quarter, fueled by strong gains in commissions and asset management fees.

The strong earnings from the mid-market brokerage come a day after Wall Street titan Morgan Stanley(MS Quote) said its second-quarter profits more than doubled from last year.

In the quarter, St. Louis-based AG Edwards earned $77.6 million, or $1.01 a share, up from $51.8 million, or 67 cents a share. Net revenue rose 17% to $768 million.

AG Edwards' earnings and revenue easily surpassed the Thomson Financial consensus estimate. Analysts had predicted the firm would earn 88 cents a share on revenue of $733 million.

Commission revenue rose 12% to $276 million in the quarter. Asset management fees rose 23% to $307 million.

But AG Edwards did not fare as well as its bigger Wall Street peers when it came to investment banking activities. Revenue from traditional investment banking fell 18% to $48 million in the quarter.

In early trading, shares of AG Edwards were up $2, or 4%, to $53.42.