Brokerage firm Charles Schwab
And now the bad news...
July's average daily trades of 133.7 thousand were down compared with the same time frame a year ago. Double-digits down. 10%.
So, while there was a bounce of improvement from the time Schwab was in the doldrums not long ago -- when average daily trades during the month of May fell 18% compared with April -- I still find these results disheartening for the stock, especially when the entire context of Schwab's problems is seen in total.
The biggest problem by far for Schwab and competitors such as E*Trade
Schwab has been facing other difficulties as well, including a recent CEO shuffle and the need to lower commission costs. It's a tough, competitive market out there, not only with the aforementioned online caterers but also with the likes of Morgan Stanley
Although I am partial to E*Trade (as mentioned in a previous piece), I won't discount Bill's analysis. If you are a patient investor, Charles Schwab will probably reward you down the road. But understand something important: You may have to wait a long time and reinvest a lot of dividends (current yield for the stock is slightly less than 1%) before the stock reaches one of the firm's more expensive commission tiers.
While you're waiting, you can read Selena Maranjian's article detailing SmartMoney's annual review of the brokerage companies.
Fool contributor Steven Mallas owns none of the companies mentioned.