Credit card issuers slide, Capital One hit nearly 5-year low on profit warning

NEW YORK, Jan 10, 2008 (Thomson Financial via COMTEX) -- COF | news | PowerRating | PR Charts -- Shares of credit card issuers tumbled Thursday following a profit warning from Capital One Financial Corp.

The stock of Capital One tumbled 7.8% to $39.98, after sliding to $38.85 in intraday trading, the lowest level since April, 2003. Volume of about 5.4 million shares was slightly below its 30-day average daily volume of roughly 5.9 million.

The McLean, Va.-based financial holding company said it expects to report fourth-quarter earnings of 60 cents a share and full-year earnings of about $3.97 a share, below its prior expectation of "about $5 per share," primarily because of increased provision expense and additional legal reserves.

On a continuing basis, the company sees fourth-quarter earnings of 85 cents a share and full-year profit of $6.55 a share.

The mean estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial is for a profit of $1.52 a share for the fourth quarter and $4.86 a share for the year at the time.

Elsewhere in the sector, shares of MasterCard Inc. fell 2.4% to $191.86, Discover Financial Services dropped 3.3% to $13.71 and American Express Co. fell 2.9% to $47.65. Wanfeng Zhou wz/tk1

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