Brokerage firm Charles Schwab Corp. said Monday its third-quarter earnings soared, mainly due to a big gain on the sale of its U.S. Trust wealth management business. Schwab reported earnings of $1.53 billion, or $1.28 per share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with $266 million, or 21 cents per share, a year ago. The latest earnings include a $1.2 billion after-tax gain from the sale of U.S. Trust, which was sold July 1 to Bank of America Corp. for $3.3 billion. Excluding the gain, Schwab's earnings from continuing operations were $323 million, or 27 cents per share. Schwab reported third-quarter revenue of $1.29 billion versus $1.07 billion in the year-ago period. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, forecast earnings of 25 cents per share on revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter. Analysts do not typically include one-time items in their forecasts. Operating earnings were boosted by $37.3 billion in net new assets brought by clients to Schwab during the third quarter, a 66 percent increase from the same quarter last year. The new assets helped Schwab reach a record $1.441 trillion in total client assets as of Sept. 30. |