UPDATE 3-TD Ameritrade beats Street, reviewing capital plan
* Q4 EPS 26 cents on $657.9 mln in revenue
* First full quarter with thinkorswim
* Shares slip 1.4 percent on conservative forecast (Adds analyst, commissions, Schwab; updates shares)
NEW YORK, Oct 27 (Reuters) - TD Ameritrade Holding Corp (AMTD.O) reported a quarterly earnings decline less steep than analysts expected, and the brokerage said it would consider an acquisition, share buyback or a dividend.
Shares of the second-biggest U.S. online broker slipped more than 1 percent on Tuesday as it conservatively forecast fiscal 2010 earnings of $1.10 to $1.40, compared with the analysts' average estimate of $1.29. The company also said the economy was more likely to see higher than lower interest rates, which could further boost earnings.
TD Ameritrade, which has now fully absorbed the purchase of options-focused brokerage thinkorswim Inc, said it would take advantage of the $1.14 billion in cash it holds to propel growth into next year.
"We are reviewing our capital plan in order to better position the company to take advantage of opportunities to add value regardless of the environment," Chief Executive Officer Fred Tomczyk told analysts and media on a conference call.
"We will continue to study our options," he added, "whether they be another acquisition, a share buyback or a dividend."
Earnings fell to $156.7 million, or 26 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended on Sept. 30 from $172.0 million, or 30 cents a share, a year earlier.
Analysts on average expected the Omaha, Nebraska-based company to earn 22 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue edged slightly higher to $657.9 million, while analysts had forecast $630.5 million.
TD Ameritrade agreed to a settlement in July with New York's attorney general to buy back auction rate securities, or ARS, following a probe into illegal marketing and sales of the long-term debt securities.
The company logged 2 cents per share on losses on ARS in the quarter, less than most analysts' estimates.
RECORD TRADING
TD Ameritrade said daily average revenue trades, or DARTS, were a record 411,000 in the quarter as thinkorswim added to a robust summer. Tomczyk said individual investors were resilient, "taking advantage of volatility and the significant intraday market movements that seemed to happen regularly." Continued...
