Shares of Wealthfront Corp. rose 9% Thursday morning after the company reported quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street estimates and showed that it is winning more business from existing and new customers.
The wealth management company posted earnings per share of 10 cents for its fiscal second quarter, which ended July 31. Wall Street analysts expected earnings per share of 8 cents, according to estimates compiled by FactSet. For the same period a year ago, Wealthfront had earnings per share of 24 cents.
Revenue came in at $91.9 million. Wall Street analysts had anticipated revenue of $91.5 million. For the same period a year ago, Wealthfront had revenue of $91.1 million.
The company went public late last year. Shares of Wealthfront have struggled so far this year, falling 23%. The benchmark S&P 500 index is up 10% year to date, and the Vanguard Financials ETF, which tracks a basket of financial stocks, is up 3.6%.
Wealthfront said Tuesday that its platform assets topped $100 billion as of the end of August for the first time, a sign that the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company is continuing to attract new clients and win more business from existing clients. Wealthfront says it is attracting young professionals to its offerings. Its clients had an average age of 35 and an average balance of $70,000 across savings and investments as of Aug. 6. Wealthfront says 45% of new clients are Gen Z.
"We exited the quarter incrementally more optimistic on Wealthfront's organic asset-gathering trajectory, with strengthening cash management deposits complementing continued investment advisory growth," Citizens analyst Devin Ryan wrote in a research note yesterday. Ryan says that Wealthfront can win wallet share with existing clients as it adds more products and offerings.
Ryan rates Wealthfront stock Market Outperform and has a price target of $17.
Founded in 2008, Wealthfront is one of the pioneering robo-advisors, which offer clients low-cost, professionally managed portfolios. But it is the company's high-yield cash savings that is the biggest revenue generator, representing about 70% of revenue. Wealthfront has recently expanded into mortgages in an effort to diversify its business mix. The company says Wealthfront Home Lending is available in Colorado, Texas, and California, and it plans to expand the offering to Washington, Florida, Illinois, and Oregon in the coming months.
The company's earnings report showed that investment advisory assets were $54.1 billion, up 30% year over year, and cash management assets were $44.9 billion, down 4% year over year. The number of funded clients reached 1.51 million, a 14% increase from the same period a year ago.