Monday, June 30, 2008

E*Trade Panic?



(1929 Crash)

Panic on our long position in ETFC? Not yet. Responding to the collapse of it's shares last week, E*Trade issued a press release today regarding it's upcoming Q2 conference call. I've provided the link here, as well as copied it below. Reading between the lines, take a look at what words were chosen to describe what investors are in for on June 22nd :

"...strong performance..." "...generating positive trends..." "...strength and stability..."

A key note: "While the overall credit environment remains highly challenging, the strength and stability of the Companys retail business continues to generate earnings in the Bank to absorb credit losses in excess of managements current three-year forecast."

I find it hard to believe that a company would put out such a strongly worded announcement unless they know they can back it up.

E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corporation Announces Second-Quarter 2008 Earnings Conference Call
Monday June 30, 8:05 am ET


Company Comments on Retail Business Trends and Updates Progress of Parent Company Debt Reduction

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC - News) today announced that it will report its second-quarter 2008 financial results after the close of the U.S. financial markets on Tuesday, July 22, 2008. The Company will host a conference call to discuss the results beginning at 5:00 p.m. (EDT). This conference call will be available to domestic participants by dialing 800-683-1525 and 973-872-3197 for international participants. The conference ID number is 54304105. A live audio webcast and replay of this conference call will also be accessible at https://investor.etrade.com.
The Company also announced that it continued to experience strong performance in its retail franchise during the second quarter, generating positive trends in net new customer accounts and asset flows. While the overall credit environment remains highly challenging, the strength and stability of the Companys retail business continues to generate earnings in the Bank to absorb credit losses in excess of managements current three-year forecast. The Company also affirmed that it continues to expect excess risk-based capital at the Bank (excess to the regulatory minimum threshold for well capitalized) to approach $1 billion by year end.

Additionally, the Company completed actions during the second quarter that further reduced Parent Company debt by approximately $95.8 million, for total year-to-date reduction of $155.8 million. The second quarter reduction was achieved through a series of debt-for-equity exchanges (3(a)(9) exchanges). As previously announced, such exchanges serve to reduce leverage and debt service requirements at the Parent Company, and represent the principal means of capital raising expected in connection with the 2008 Turnaround Plan. The Company believes that these exchanges continue to provide a cost-effective and shareholder-friendly way of reducing corporate interest expense and leverage at the Parent Company.

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