Written by StockNews.com

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: AMTD) early Wednesday posted mixed second quarter earnings results, with profit barely missing expectations, although revenue and client assets both hit new records.

The Omaha-based investment brokerage reported:

• Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $0.40, which was $0.01 worse than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $0.41.
• Revenues rose 6.9% from last year to $904 million, however, topping analysts’ view for $882.25 million...
• Record net new client assets of about $19.5 billion, in the latest period. Extrapolated out, that represents an annualized growth rate of 10%.
• Record average client trades per day of approximately 517,000, up 2% year-over-year.
• Rate-sensitive assets jumped 11% to $124 billion on the back of higher interest rates...
• Record client assets of $847 billion, up 19% from last year.

Commenting on the recent pricing war emerging in the online brokerage space, Ameritrade said that “We expect the benefits from balance growth and higher interest rates to more than offset the financial impact of our lower commission price.”

Looking ahead:

AMTD reiterated its previously announced full-year 2017 earnings outlook of $1.50 to $1.80 per share, which straddles analysts’ view of $1.65.

Tim Hockey, President and CEO...commented via press release:

“Our record-breaking results reflect the powerful combination of strong investor engagement in the market within an improving interest rate environment. Both factors served as tailwinds further accelerating our continued organic growth and giving us the flexibility to respond to the competitive environment with lower pricing for all of our clients.

Client asset inflows hit an all-time high as investors found value in our outstanding trading platforms, innovative tools, and broad product selection.

We’re capturing money in motion and have plans firmly in place to help our industry-leading organic growth continue.”

...Year-to-date, AMTD had declined -14.01% prior to today’s report, versus a +5.08% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

AMTD currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of C (Neutral), and is ranked #19 of 29 stocks in the Investment Brokerage category.