TD Ameritrade: Tons of people set up trading accounts just to buy Snapchat

Although investors who bought Snap in its trading debut remain underwater, some companies are still counting their gains from the March IPO.

Online broker TD Ameritrade is one such company. Regardless of whether Snapchat's parent company rises back above its opening price of $24 or not, the firm earns commissions when its clients trade the stock online.

And according to Tim Hockey, TD Ameritrade's CEO, Snap was a boost to the company's first-quarter performance.

TD Ameritrade's average client trades per day hit a record of 517,000, helped by the demand for Snap's shares. Net revenues rose to a record $904 million, topping Wall Street's forecast, while earnings per share of $0.40 missed by one cent.

"Our trades skewed much younger," Hockey told Business Insider, and the Snap IPO was a key reason why many younger people opened accounts. For example, he learned of a 16-year old who wanted to open an account just to buy Snap.

"People buy what they know, and younger people know social media," Hockey said. Apple is usually one of the most actively traded stocks and in the first quarter, and it was the most sold via TD Ameritrade along with Facebook, Amazon, and Tesla.

Snapchat, Nvidia, Bank of America, and Target were among the most bought shares, Hockey said.

As online brokers including Charles Schwab and E-Trade cut their commission prices to compete with other, their earnings could suffer, according to a report from Moody's. However, Hockey argued that revenue gains from other parts of the business, spurred by rising interest rates, would offset the drop in commissions.

Get the latest Snap stock price here.