OptionsXpress: Outlook And 3rd Quarter

About OptionsXpress:
optionsXpress Holdings, Inc., a pioneer in equity options and futures trading, offers an innovative suite of online brokerage services for investor education, strategy evaluation and trade execution. optionsXpress Holdings subsidiaries include optionsXpress, Inc., a retail online brokerage specializing in options and futures, and brokersXpress, LLC, an online trading and reporting platform for independent investment professionals and Open E Cry, LLC, an innovative futures broker offering direct access futures trading for high volume commodities and futures traders through its proprietary software platform. Barron's named optionsXpress the number one online broker for four years in a row (2003 to 2006) and Kiplinger's Personal Finance named it the top discount broker in 2006.

OptionsXpress 3rd Quarter Results:optionsXpress Holdings, Inc. (NasdaqGS: OXPS - News) today reported results for the three months ended September 30, 2008. Highlights from the third quarter 2008, which incorporate the acquisition of Open E Cry that closed on July 1, 2008, included:
Revenues of $66.9 million, a 4% increase year-over-year
Net income of $24.0 million, or $0.40 per diluted share
Daily average revenue trades (DART) of 47,800, a 30% increase year-over-year
Net new account growth of 10,900 during the quarter, resulting in 305,200 customer accounts, a 23% increase year-over-year
$5.3 billion in customer assets on September 30, 2008
During the quarter, optionsXpress announced a dividend of $0.08 per share. The total amount of the dividend was approximately $4.8 million and was paid to shareholders on September 19, 2008.

In addition, brokersXpress Illinois Inc., a subsidiary of optionsXpress, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Horwitz & Associates, Inc., an independent broker/dealer and investment advisor for $4 million in cash and additional consideration based on future performance. Horwitz & Associates, Inc., located in Riverwoods, IL, had 28 independent registered representatives and advisors, over 4,000 accounts and approximately $1 billion in customer assets as of September 30, 2008.

OptionsXpress Outlook:
According to David Fisher, Chief Executive Officer of optionsXpress:
“optionsXpress has thrived in the face of turmoil in the financial markets that began over a year ago. We have delivered solid results and executed our strategies to drive growth. We still firmly believe in the secular market growth story for retail investors using derivatives and continue to see additional growth opportunities like our recent acquisition of Open E Cry and partnership with Indian brokerage Reliance Money. In the short-term, customers have remained engaged and in the longer-term we anticipate that our educational resources, diverse products and robust platform will help customers manage their portfolios through both challenging and more stable conditions.”