Merrill Lynch said today that quarterly earnings rose 68 per cent to easily beat Wall Street estimates on big, one-time gains from private equity investments.
Meanwhile. asset management and portfolio service fees tumbled 20 per cent in the quarter. Commissions at the world's largest brokerage rose a modest 7 per cent.
The company's stock rose 69 cents to $97.50 in early electronic trading.
Merrill Lynch's total net revenue soared 27 per cent, to $8.6 billion, as revenue from principal transactions, which include private equity deals, more than tripled to $2.2 billion.
Merrill Lynch's fourth-quarter earnings were $2.3 billion, or $2.41 a share, up from $1.4 billion, or $1.41 a share, in the year-earlier period.
Analysts, on average, had been looking for earnings of $1.92 a share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Merrill Lynch's investment banking revenue climbed 41 per cent, to $1.3 billion.
The brokerage's shares are up 38 per cent in the past year.