LPL Financial's latest quarterly earnings beat analysts' estimates, coming in at $120 million, or $1.36 per share, for the period ending Dec. 31, 2018, versus $64 million, or $0.69 per share, for the year-ago quarter.
Revenues of $1.32 billion, though, missed expectations by about $40 million; they were up about 18% from a year ago, but down slightly from the prior quarter.
More significant, though, is the fact that the number of net new LPL advisors dropped by 65 for the quarter to 16,109, excluding registered reps brought on via acquisitions, and fell 42 for the year, according to a report by analyst Chris Shutler of William Blair
But President and CEO Dan Arnold, speaking with equity analysts late Thursday, said the independent broker-dealer had a plan. "Looking ahead, we have a large agenda for our service model," he explained.