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Bear trumps expectations
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September 14, 2000: 9:30 a.m. ET
Brokerage says equity business makes up for fixed-income struggles
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Bear Stearns Cos. Inc., one of the last of the major independent brokerages, reported fiscal third-quarter earnings Thursday that fell from last year, but trounced Wall Street expectations.
Bear Stearns said strong performances from its equity businesses helped it earn $181.4 million, or $1.32 a share, in the third quarter, compared with $192.3 million, or $1.19 a share, in the year-earlier period. First Call, which polls analysts for their predictions of company earnings, expected the brokerage to earn $1.19.
The New York-based company reported about 10 percent fewer outstanding shares in this year's third quarter than last, a factor which contributed to the higher per-share figure.
The brokerage reported revenue of $1.3 billion, up from $1.2 billion in the year-earlier period.
Bear Stearns (BSC: Research, Estimates), which has nearly 10,000 employees, said its derivatives business also helped the company recover from a "weak operating environment" for its fixed-income and investment-banking businesses.
The news comes just a day after the announcement by Chase Manhattan Corp. (CMB: Research, Estimates) of its purchase of J.P. Morgan & Co. (JPM: Research, Estimates), the latest high-profile brokerage merger. Many have speculated that Bear Stearns could be next. 
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