E-Trade Earnings Double in 1st Quarter

Online brokerage E-Trade Group Inc. said its earnings more than doubled in the latest quarter as more investors turned to its Internet site to trade stocks. Palo Alto-based E-Trade said its earnings rose 117% to $4.91 million, or 12 cents a share, for its fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31, including a onetime charge of 4 cents a share connected with its acquisition of OptionsLink. The consensus on Wall Street was for earnings of 14 cents a share, excluding charges. In the year-ago period, E-Trade reported net income of $2.26 million, or 7 cents. Revenue doubled to a record $51.1 million from 25 million. E-Trade said it added 100,000 new accounts last quarter.