Shares of Charles Schwab (SCHW 0.68%) took a hit on Wednesday after the company posted quarterly results that featured near-misses on both the top and bottom lines.
For the first quarter, the brokerage's net revenue totaled almost $2.62 billion, down from the $2.72 billion a year ago. Net income slid by 18% to $795 million, or $0.58 per share. Schwab pointed out that its bottom line was impacted by $27 million ($0.02 per share) in expenses related to shoring up its business in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Image source: Charles Schwab.
On average, analysts tracking the stock were expecting revenue of $2.63 billion, and a net profit of $0.63 per share.
On a brighter note, Schwab posted a new all-time Q1 high for core net new assets, which rose by 42% year over year to over $73 billion. Active brokerage accounts increased by 8%.
The company attributed the declines in its headline numbers to coronavirus-related developments in the securities markets, and to central bank actions.
"Our first quarter financial results were shaped by a very challenging economic environment in which the decade-long bull market ended -- with the S&P falling 20% during the period and the Federal Reserve cutting the target overnight rate 150 basis points to near zero in an emergency effort to help shield the economy amid pandemic concerns," it wrote in its earnings release.
Schwab did not proffer guidance for either the current quarter or the year.
On a day when the S&P 500 declined by 2.2%, Schwab shares performed worse, sliding by nearly 4.3%.
