LPL Financial shares are getting hammered in Friday trading after the company announced disappointing financial results yesterday.
Shares were trading down 38 percent to under $16 midday on huge trading volume.
The stock is off 64 percent year-to-date.
LPL earned $.28 a share (GAAP) in the fourth quarter ended December, off 50 percent from a year ago.
Adjusted earnings were $0.37 per share for the quarter, missing consensus estimates of $0.51.
For the full year, LPL earned $1.77 per share (GAAP), down one percent from 2014.
Commission revenue, LPL’s biggest revenue line, was down 12 percent to $463 million in the latest quarter, and off seven percent for the year. Net revenues fell eight percent to $1.02 billion in the quarter, and two percent for the full 12 months.
“Sales commissions declined mostly due to an industry-wide slowdown in alternative investments,” the company said.
LPL executives warned that the tough environment would likely continue, with volatile markets driving customers to cash and the Department of Labor’s pending fiduciary rule impacting sales of alternatives and other commissionable products.
“We expect continued pressure on brokerage sales,” CEO Mark Casady said in a statement Thursday.