SKWD

Leading global insurer Aon plc AON is set to report third-quarter 2026 results on Oct. 28, before the opening bell. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter's earnings is currently pegged at $3.34 per share on revenues of $4.08 billion. The third-quarter earnings estimate has witnessed two upward revisions and six downward movements over the past 60 days. The bottom-line projection indicates a year-over-year increase of 9.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues suggests year-over-year growth of 2%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research AON beat the consensus estimate for earnings in each of the last four quarters, with the average surprise being 2.7%. Aon plc price-eps-surprise | Aon plc Quote Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for the company this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy), or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. That's not the case here. AON currently has an Earnings ESP of -0.80% and a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Commercial Risk Solutions' revenues indicates 4.9% growth from $2 billion a year ago, whereas our model predicts a 3% increase. We expect the unit to have witnessed 5% organic revenue growth in the quarter. The consensus mark for the Health Solutions' third-quarter revenues suggests nearly 4.5% growth from the year-ago level, while our model estimate indicates an 8% increase. The segment is likely to have been supported by new business growth, strong retention rates and positive market impact. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Reinsurance Solutions' revenues indicates growth of 3.8% from $537 million recorded a year ago, while our model estimate suggests a 5% increase. Favorable retention rates, new business generation and facultative placement growth are expected to have benefited the unit. The aforementioned factors might have contributed to the company's year-over-year growth, positioning it for an earnings beat. However, the positives are likely to have been partially offset by high expenses due to significant investments in priority areas for long-term growth. Our model projects total operating expenses to exceed $3.2 billion in the third quarter, driven by higher information technology and other general expenses. Other general expenses are estimated at approximately $435 million. The consensus estimate for third-quarter revenues in the Wealth Solutions segment suggests a 16.1% decrease from the previous year's $540 million, whereas our model indicates an 18% decline. The unit is likely to have been affected by weaker advisory demand in the United States. While an earnings beat looks uncertain for AON, here are some companies from the broader Finance space that you may want to consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this time around: Cincinnati Financial Corporation CINF has an Earnings ESP of +2.51% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cincinnati Financial's third-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $1.99 per share. Its earnings beat estimates in three of the past four quarters and missed once, delivering an average surprise of 11.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CINF's revenues is pegged at $3.03 billion, indicating a 5.5% increase from the year-ago reported figure. Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. SKWD has an Earnings ESP of +7.55% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Skyward Specialty Insurance Group's earnings for the to-be-reported quarter is pegged at $1.22 per share, indicating 16.2% year-over-year growth. The consensus estimate for revenues is pinned at $507.3 million. SKWD beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with the average surprise being 19.4%. Palomar Holdings, Inc. PLMR has an Earnings ESP of +1.89% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Palomar Holdings' bottom line for the to-be-reported quarter is pegged at $2.64 per share, indicating 31.3% year-over-year growth. It beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with the average surprise being 13%. The consensus estimate for PLMR's revenues is pegged at $376.5 million. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Aon plc (AON) : Free Stock Analysis Report Cincinnati Financial Corporation (CINF) : Free Stock Analysis Report Palomar Holdings, Inc. (PLMR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. (SKWD) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Selective Insurance (SIGI) came out with quarterly earnings of $2.37 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.91 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.75 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +24.08%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this insurance holding company would post earnings of $1.72 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.95, delivering a surprise of +13.37%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. Selective Insurance, which belongs to the Zacks Insurance - Property and Casualty industry, posted revenues of $1.35 billion for the quarter ended September 2026, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.6%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $1.35 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Selective Insurance shares have added about 8.9% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 13.3%. While Selective Insurance has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Selective Insurance was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $2.65 on $1.35 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $8.20 on $5.45 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Insurance - Property and Casualty is currently in the top 29% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. One other stock from the same industry, Skyward Specialty Insurance (SKWD), is yet to report results for the quarter ended September 2026. The results are expected to be released on November 5. This property and casualty insurance holding company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.22 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +16.2%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. Skyward Specialty Insurance's revenues are expected to be $507.32 million, up 32.6% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (SIGI) : Free Stock Analysis Report Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. (SKWD) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. HIG is set to report third-quarter 2026 results on Oct. 26, after the closing bell. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter's earnings is currently pegged at $3.15 per share on revenues of $5.3 billion. The third-quarter earnings estimate has witnessed four upward estimate revisions against two downward movements over the past 30 days. Meanwhile, the bottom-line projection indicates a year-over-year decline of 16.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues suggests year-over-year growth of 3.3%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research For the current year, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hartford's revenues is pegged at $20.9 billion, implying a rise of 4.8% year over year. However, the consensus mark for current-year EPS is pegged at $12.89, implying a fall of around 4% on a year-over-year basis. HIG beat the consensus estimate for earnings in three of the last four quarters and missed once, with the average surprise being 13.1%. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. price-eps-surprise | The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. Quote Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Hartford this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is the case here. HIG has an Earnings ESP of +1.95% and currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for net premiums earned for the third quarter indicates 3.3% growth year over year. The consensus estimate for Business Insurance's net investment income is $555.7 million, indicating 7.1% growth from the year-ago quarter's figure. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for net investment income in the Personal Insurance business is pegged at $67.3 million, which indicates a 0.4% increase from the prior-year quarter's reported figure. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hartford's Personal Insurance underlying combined ratio for the quarter under review is pegged at 87.9%, indicating improvement from the prior-year reported figure of 90%. The consensus mark for the Employee Benefits business' revenues is pegged at $1.9 billion, indicating a 3.8% rise from the prior-year quarter's figure. However, the bottom line is expected to have been pressured by higher insurance operating costs and other expenses. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hartford's Business Insurance underlying combined ratio is pegged at 89.5%, up from 89.4% a year ago. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hartford's homeowners' policies in force for the quarter under review indicates a decline of 2.2% year over year. Also, the consensus estimate indicates a 10% year-over-year decline in automobile policies in force. Here are some other companies worth considering from the broader Finance space, as our model shows that these, too, have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this time around: Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. SKWD has an Earnings ESP of +7.55% and carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Skyward Specialty Insurance Group's earnings for the to-be-reported quarter is pegged at $1.22 per share, indicating 16.2% year-over-year growth. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $507.3 million. SKWD beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with the average surprise being 19.4%. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. CBOE currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.95% and a Zacks Rank #3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cboe Global Markets' bottom line for the to-be-reported quarter is pegged at $3.41 per share, indicating 27.7% year-over-year growth. It beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with the average surprise being 5.7%. The consensus estimate for CBOE's revenues is pegged at $702.8 million. Palomar Holdings, Inc. PLMR has an Earnings ESP of +1.89% and carries a Zacks Rank #3 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Palomar Holdings' bottom line for the to-be-reported quarter is pegged at $2.64 per share, indicating 31.3% year-over-year growth. It beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with the average surprise being 13%. The consensus estimate for PLMR's revenues is pegged at $376.5 million. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (HIG) : Free Stock Analysis Report Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (CBOE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Palomar Holdings, Inc. (PLMR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. (SKWD) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

If you are looking for a stock that has a solid history of beating earnings estimates and is in a good position to maintain the trend in its next quarterly report, you should consider Skyward Specialty Insurance (SKWD). This company, which is in the Zacks Insurance - Property and Casualty industry, shows potential for another earnings beat. This property and casualty insurance holding company has an established record of topping earnings estimates, especially when looking at the previous two reports. The company boasts an average surprise for the past two quarters of 16.05%. For the last reported quarter, Skyward came out with earnings of $1.3 per share versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.15 per share, representing a surprise of 13.04%. For the previous quarter, the company was expected to post earnings of $1.05 per share and it actually produced earnings of $1.25 per share, delivering a surprise of 19.05%. With this earnings history in mind, recent estimates have been moving higher for Skyward. In fact, the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) for the company is positive, which is a great sign of an earnings beat, especially when you combine this metric with its nice Zacks Rank. Our research shows that stocks with the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time. In other words, if you have 10 stocks with this combination, the number of stocks that beat the consensus estimate could be as high as seven. The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a version of the Zacks Consensus whose definition is related to change. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier. Skyward has an Earnings ESP of +7.55% at the moment, suggesting that analysts have grown bullish on its near-term earnings potential. When you combine this positive Earnings ESP with the stock's Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), it shows that another beat is possibly around the corner. The company's next earnings report is expected to be released on November 5, 2026. Investors should note, however, that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss, but a negative value does reduce the predictive power of this metric. Many companies end up beating the consensus EPS estimate, but that may not be the sole basis for their stocks moving higher. On the other hand, some stocks may hold their ground even if they end up missing the consensus estimate. Because of this, it's really important to check a company's Earnings ESP ahead of its quarterly release to increase the odds of success. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. (SKWD) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Skyward Specialty Insurance (SKWD). Shares have lost about 10.7% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500. But investors have to be wondering, will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Skyward due for a breakout? Well, first let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent drivers for Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late. SKWD Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates as Premium Growth Accelerates Skyward Specialty delivered a solid second quarter of 2026, with operating earnings per share of $1.30, which increased 46.1% from the year-ago level. It beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13%. Total revenues were $489.53 million, which improved 53% year over year and beat the consensus mark by 6.5%. The second-quarter performance reflected strong premium growth and contributions from the Apollo segment, while underwriting remained profitable despite a slight increase in the combined ratio. Gross written premiums totaled $740.6 million, up 13.3% from the prior-year period’s level. Growth was broad-based, led by a 14.2% increase in the Skyward Specialty segment and a 5.6% rise in the Apollo segment, with Syndicate 1969's gross written premiums increasing 7.7%. Net earned premiums climbed to $444.5 million from $295.5 million a year ago, reflecting higher business volumes and contributions from the Apollo segment. Underwriting fee income of $12.6 million, generated by the Apollo segment, also contributed to the quarter’s top-line mix. Net investment income increased to $30.7 million from $18.7 million a year ago, driven by the addition of the Apollo portfolio, a higher-yield environment and a larger invested asset base. Within Skyward Group’s U.S. specialty operations, several underwriting divisions posted notable momentum. Accident & Health gross written premiums increased 57.8% year over year, Credit & Surety rose 15.6%, Global Agriculture advanced 95.8% and Specialty Programs jumped 29.7%, helping offset declines in Captives, Energy Solutions and Global Property. The Skyward Specialty segment's loss and LAE ratio increased primarily because of shifts in business mix, driven by growth in Accident & Health and Global Agriculture. At the same time, the segment's expense ratio improved, driven by business mix shifts, enhanced operating efficiencies and scale benefits. Losses and loss adjustment expenses amounted to $276.7 million, up from $181.3 million in the prior-year quarter, consistent with the expansion of the premium base. The consolidated loss ratio deteriorated to 62.3% from 61.3% a year ago, primarily reflecting business-mix shifts within the Skyward Specialty segment. Total Cat loss and LAE increased to 1.9% from 1.4% a year ago. Underwriting, acquisition and insurance expenses rose to $123.3 million from $85.6 million a year ago, reflecting higher activity levels and a larger operating platform. On the ratio side, net policy acquisition costs increased to 16.0% from 15.1% a year ago, while the total expense ratio improved to 27.2% from 28.1%. The combined ratio increased slightly to 89.5% from 89.4% a year ago. On the balance sheet, cash and cash equivalents rose to $219.2 million from $168.5 million as of 2025-end. Total assets reached $6.8 billion as of June 30, 2026, up from $4.8 billion as of 2025-end. Notes payable jumped to $417.6 million from $100.4 million as of 2025-end. Book value per share was approximately $28.55, up 14.6% from the figure as of Dec. 31, 2025. It turns out, estimates revision have trended upward during the past month. Currently, Skyward has a average Growth Score of C, however its Momentum Score is doing a lot better with an A. Following the exact same course, the stock has a score of A on the value side, putting it in the top quintile for this investment strategy. Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in. Estimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Notably, Skyward has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months. Skyward is part of the Zacks Insurance - Property and Casualty industry. Over the past month, Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. (KNSL), a stock from the same industry, has gained 1.6%. The company reported its results for the quarter ended June 2026 more than a month ago. Kinsale Capital Group reported revenues of $548.52 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +16.8%. EPS of $5.54 for the same period compares with $4.78 a year ago. Kinsale Capital Group is expected to post earnings of $4.87 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -6.5%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -0.3%. The overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions translate into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Kinsale Capital Group. Also, the stock has a VGM Score of D. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. (SKWD) : Free Stock Analysis Report Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. (KNSL) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Skyward Specialty Insurance posted a strong Q2, outperforming Wall Street’s expectations on both revenue and adjusted earnings. This positive market reaction was fueled by the company’s robust premium growth across specialized segments and ongoing margin improvements. Management highlighted the benefits of its diversified business mix, particularly the expansion in Accident & Health, Credit & Surety, and Global Agriculture, as key contributors to the quarter’s performance. CEO Andrew Robinson emphasized the company’s “rule our niche” strategy and operational discipline, stating, “Our business portfolio diversification allows us to lean into markets where pricing, underwriting conditions, and returns remain attractive.” Is now the time to buy SKWD? Find out in our full research report (it’s free). Revenue: $489.5 million vs analyst estimates of $468.9 million (53% year-on-year growth, 4.4% beat) Adjusted EPS: $1.30 vs analyst estimates of $1.17 (10.8% beat) Market Capitalization: $2.75 billion While we enjoy listening to the management’s commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls is the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. Tracy Benguigui (Wolfe Research) asked about the increased share repurchase authorization and whether it signals less underwriting capacity. CEO Andrew Robinson replied that strong earnings growth and reduced leverage create room for opportunistic buybacks, but capital allocation remains disciplined. Andrew Kligerman (TD Cowen) inquired about the drivers behind Skyward Specialty’s improved expense ratio, specifically the role of AI. Robinson detailed investments in digital underwriting, machine learning, and process automation, citing examples like SkyScore and workflow improvements in Surety. Mark Hughes (Truist) probed the sources of growth and volatility in the Accident & Health business. Robinson attributed growth to product fit and expanded distribution, noting that short-tail exposures limit volatility and that the division’s loss ratio remains strong compared to industry peers. Paul Newsome (Piper Sandler) raised questions about portfolio mix changes and their impact on key metrics. Robinson emphasized intentional diversification, shorter liability durations, and a commitment to keeping each division below 20% of the total portfolio. Randy Binner (Texas Capital) asked about the scalability and margin potential of Apollo’s fee income business. Robinson explained that the platform’s cost structure enables earnings leverage as fee-based revenue grows, and management expects further improvement as the business scales. In the coming quarters, our analysts will be watching (1) the expansion of AI-enabled underwriting tools and their impact on both growth and efficiency, (2) the performance and scaling of Apollo’s fee-based income business, and (3) changes in underwriting appetite and pricing discipline in property and E&S liability markets. Developments in Accident & Health and Global Agriculture will also be closely tracked for sustained outperformance. Skyward Specialty Insurance currently trades at $61, in line with $61.57 just before the earnings. At this price, is it a buy or sell? Find out in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members). WHILE YOU’RE HERE: Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. The best stocks don’t just beat the market once. They do it again. And again. Robust revenue growth, rising free cash flow, returns on capital that leave their competition in the dust. The market has already rewarded these businesses. But our AI platform says the party isn’t over. Find out which 9 stocks made the cut this week — FREE. Get Our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks for Free HERE. Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+1,154% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.

Image source: The Motley Fool. Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026 at 9 a.m. ET Investor Relations - Jordan Arnold Chairman and Chief Executive Officer - Andrew Robinson Chief Financial Officer - Mark Haushill Operator: Good day. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the 2026 Q2 Skyward Specialty earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speakers' presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star one on your telephone. You will hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star one again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Jordan Arnold, VP of Investor Relations. Please go ahead. Jordan Arnold: Thank you, Shannon. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to our second quarter 2026 earnings conference call. Today, I am joined by our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Robinson, and Chief Financial Officer, Mark Haushill. We will begin the call with our prepared remarks. We will open the line for questions. Our comments may include forward-looking statements, which, by their nature, involve a number of risk factors and uncertainties which may affect future financial performance. Such risk factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements. These types of factors are discussed in our press release, as well as in our 10-K that was previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Financial schedules containing reconciliations of certain non-GAAP measures, along with other supplemental financial schedules, are included as part of our press release and available on our website under the Investors section. With that, I will turn the call over to Andrew. Andrew Robinson: Thank you, Jordan. Welcome to the Skyward team. We're pleased to have you on board. To our conference call participants, good morning. Thank you for joining us. The second quarter was simply outstanding. Diluted Operating Earnings Per Share increased 46% to $1.30. Our annualized Operating Return on Equity was an excellent 19%. Gross Written Premiums increased 13% over the prior year quarter, while Managed Premiums were up 18%. We continue to execute at an incredibly high level across Skyward Specialty and Apollo, delivering strong top-line growth and results that reinforce the strength, diversification, quality, and profitability of our business. Our rule our niche strategy, in particular, our business portfolio diversification, allows us to lean into markets where pricing, underwriting conditions, and returns remain attractive. We will continue to protect margins and play sensible defense in the softest parts of the market where pricing and terms are less attractive or loss cost inflation is uncertain. Our strong capital position provides significant flexibility as we continue to allocate capital with discipline. We believe share repurchases remain an attractive use of capital given our returns, earnings growth, and current valuation. During the quarter, we repurchased approximately $10 million of shares and in July increased our repurchase authorization to $100 million. With that, I'll turn it over to Mark to provide the financial details for the quarter. Mark? Mark Haushill: Thank you, Andrew. Good morning. We are pleased with our second quarter performance, which included double-digit premium growth, continued excellent underwriting profitability, and attractive returns on capital. We reported net income of $49 million and operating income of $59 million. Diluted Operating Earnings Per Share was $1.30, an increase of 46% year-over-year. We continue to produce outstanding underwriting results, reporting a Combined Ratio of 89.5, inclusive of 1.9 points of catastrophe losses. The Ex-CAT Combined Ratio of 87.6 underscores the quality of our underwriting, the diversity of our business portfolio, and the operating leverage we are achieving as we continue to scale the business. For the first six months of 2026, operating income increased to $116 million, driving an Operating Return on Equity of 20.4%. Premium growth remained strong. Total Managed Premiums increased 18% to $1.1 billion during the quarter, while Gross Written Premiums increased 13% to $741 million. Within Skyward Specialty, Gross Written Premiums increased 14% to $668 million, led by continued momentum in Accident & Health, Global Agriculture, Credit & Surety, and Specialty Programs. Apollo Gross Written Premiums increased 6% to $73 million, driven by the specialty lines in Syndicate 1969, which grew 8% year-over-year. Apollo's fee generation continued to be a meaningful growth driver, with fee-generating gross written premiums increasing 29% to $318 million, including 80% growth in Platform Partner syndicates and 13% growth in capital-aligned syndicates. Underwriting fee income of $13 million during the quarter was excellent, as we are realizing the benefit of Apollo's capital-light business model. Given Apollo's seasonal production patterns, second quarter results are not necessarily indicative of longer-term growth trends. Our focus remains on long-term opportunity to grow, Managed Premiums, expand both underwriting and fee-based earnings, and continue building scale within the platform. Turning to underwriting performance, Skyward Specialty delivered another outstanding quarter, reporting a Combined Ratio of 86.9 and an Ex-CAT Combined Ratio of 85.6. The Loss Ratio was 62.6, including 1.3 points of catastrophe losses. The non-CAT Loss Ratio of 61.3 was up 1.4 points year-over-year, driven by business mix, specifically A&H and Global Agriculture, both of which are higher loss ratio divisions. Loss emergence was in line with expectations and no development was recognized. The Expense Ratio improved by 2.7 points year-over-year to 24.3. The reduction in net policy acquisition costs is positively impacted by the A&H and Global Agriculture business just noted. For other operating and general expenses, we again delivered another quarter of meaningful improvement, driven by expense discipline and leverage from our technology, in particular, the widespread benefits we are realizing from AI. Apollo reported a Combined Ratio of 97.6, including 5.4 points of catastrophe losses related primarily to the conflict in the Middle East. The non-CAT Loss Ratio of 54.7 for the quarter reflects strong underlying underwriting performance and disciplined portfolio management across the platform. Apollo's reported Expense Ratio was 37.5 for the quarter. The quarter included adjustments between net policy acquisition costs and other operating and general expenses. The year-to-date Expense Ratio of 34.9 and Combined Ratio of 91.3 provide a more representative view of Apollo's performance. Investment income continued to benefit from a larger asset base, inclusive of the addition of Apollo. Net investment income increased to $31 million in the quarter, up more than 60% from the prior year period, primarily due to $29 million of income from the fixed income portfolio. While the results from alternative and strategic investments remained pressured by lower valuations in certain limited partnership investments, these exposures represent only $68 million of our total $2.8 billion of invested assets. For the fixed income portfolio, we put new money to work at yields of 5.6%, and the embedded yield for the group portfolio was 5.3%. Our balance sheet remains exceptionally strong. Stockholders' equity increased to approximately $1.3 billion at June 30th, and book value per share increased 15% from year-end to $28.55. Financial leverage decreased by two points compared to the first quarter to 26%. During the quarter, we repaid $50 million of the $150 million term loan that matures at the end of 2027. We're rapidly moving towards our target debt-to-capital ratio of low 20s. We also repurchased 223,000 shares for approximately $10 million. In July, we announced that we increased our share repurchase authorization from $50 million-$100 million, reflecting our confidence in the quality of our business, earnings outlook, capital position, and improved leverage. I'll turn the call back over to Andrew. Andrew Robinson: Thank you, Mark. As discussed, our financial results for the quarter are once again excellent, reflecting the benefits of our diversified portfolio and rule our niche strategy. The strength of our business mix is unique amongst commercial insurers and continues to differentiate Skyward and support attractive top line and earnings growth. As is visible over recent quarters, we continue to see meaningful growth opportunities in Accident & Health, Credit & Surety, and Global Agriculture, all businesses which are largely insulated from the pressures affecting the more traditional P&C markets. There are units within our reporting divisions with attractive opportunities for growth as well. Those include Healthcare Solutions within Professional Lines, power and renewables within Energy Solutions, political risk and political violence within Syndicate 1969, and a strong pipeline of Platform Partner syndicates to drive fee-based income growth. Additionally, the initiatives that bring together Skyward Specialty and Apollo are further providing unique and attractive opportunities for profitable growth. That said, market conditions remain more challenging in property, both global and E&S, and in miscellaneous professional. Some other areas, such as E&S liability, are clearly transitioning to a more price-competitive market. We continue to prioritize underwriting profitability over volume and are being selective in areas where competitive pressures or loss cost trends do not support our return objectives. Overall, our portfolio continues to demonstrate exactly what we intended when we constructed it. A business with multiple growth engines, less dependence on the traditional P&C cycle, and the flexibility to allocate capital toward the most attractive opportunities while remaining disciplined where market conditions warrant. Turning to our operational metrics. For Skyward Specialty, pure rate remained in the high single digits ex global property and low single digits, including the larger premium contribution from global property in the second quarter. Retention remained in the 70s, and we continue to see strong submission growth, which was in the teens once again this quarter. Apollo's risk-adjusted rate change moderated to a low single-digit decline. The business remains focused on maintaining rate adequacy and optimizing the portfolio with disciplined underwriting and selective growth in the most attractive opportunities. Similar to Skyward Specialty, Apollo's diversified portfolio provides multiple levers to grow, reposition, and deploy capital as market conditions evolve. This flexibility enables us to capitalize on attractive opportunities while remaining disciplined in areas where competitive pressures warrant a more defensive approach. To wrap up, we delivered another outstanding quarter and strong first six months as Skyward Group. Our rule our niche strategy, diversified portfolio, disciplined underwriting and execution, and growing fee-based income continues to drive top-quartile financial performance. We're well-positioned to capitalize on opportunities in all market cycles and to continue to create significant long-term value for our shareholders. With that, I'll turn the call over to the operator to open it up for questions. Operator? Operator: Thank you. At this time, we will conduct the question-and-answer session. As a reminder, to ask a question, you will need to press star one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one again. Please stand by. Our first question comes from Tracy Benguigui from Wolfe Research. Please go ahead. Tracy Benguigui: Thank you. Good morning. The buyback this quarter made sense given the implied share price when that was done. Unlike most P&C insurers that sit on a ton of excess capital, you run a more efficient capital structure and have historically raised equity to fund growth. With the authorization that doubled to $100 million, how should we read it? Does this signal less underwriting capacity ahead? Now that you have delevered a bit, would you tap the debt markets to fund buybacks if the opportunity arises? Andrew Robinson: Hey, Tracy. This is Andrew, and I'll start, and Mark might join in here on this. Thanks for the question and good morning. Look, I think I would just start with the fundamentals. First off, we're growing at an attractive rate, we are generating excess capital. That just is true. I think that's a nice problem to have. It has a lot to do with our returns. Look, I think in the end, what we see is strong earnings growth and still an attractive valuation. We think buybacks are viable. We sort of took the preemptive move to reduce our leverage, really to create the headroom, right? Because you can't execute buybacks if we're starting at a leverage level that really we want to reduce, and I think we're doing a good job of that. I would just say that we'll stay opportunistic. We feel very good about our business, I think at the core, we're trading at roughly 12x our earnings guidance for 2026. We think at the most basic level, the company is immensely attractively valued, and that informs some of our thinking. Tracy Benguigui: Wasn't sure if Mark was going to chime in. Andrew Robinson: No, he gave me the perfect signal, so I think he doesn't want to say any more. Tracy Benguigui: Okay. Got it. Okay, perfect. This quarter, the topic of loss cost trends have come up a number of times. Just curious on your thoughts. I did notice that your underlying Loss Ratio did deteriorate year-over-year. If you could just touch on what you think about loss cost trends and if you're maybe choosing some higher loss picks. Andrew Robinson: Yeah. First off, the simple answer on the accident year is entirely mixed. The fact is that the growth from A&H and AG is earning in, really earning in now, and that's the change. I think that there isn't anything more to it than that. I believe, Tracy, that we have been one of the most early and direct and action-oriented around our concerns around loss cost trends, particularly in Occurrence Liability and in particular, anything that had Bodily Injury, Personal Injury exposure. We were talking about this a long time ago, and I think my point was just this simple, which is if you really cannot confidently know what your Loss Cost Inflation is, why would you grow into a market? If you think, hey, listen, I'm getting 10 points a rate because the market will give it to me, but 10 points a rate may actually not be enough rate to cover the Loss Cost Inflation because we've seen it move period on period on period. We have intentionally tried to steer our portfolio away from that. Even in Occurrence Liability lines, much of what we write is really not the Personal Injury intensively exposed stuff. Where we are exposed to it, we're trying, as any good underwriter should, keep your limits short. Right? I think that we obviously respect the commentary of others who are talking about this, but I really do think that we were one of the earliest to be talking about it and acting as far back as four years ago when people were thinking that occurrence liability was five points of loss inflation, and in certain areas, it's well over 10%. I think that we've been sensible stewards of our investors' capital in thinking about this. Tracy Benguigui: Thank you. Andrew Robinson: Thank you. Mark Haushill: Thanks, Tracy. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Andrew Kligerman from TD Cowen. Please go ahead. Andrew Kligerman: Hey, good morning. First question is around the expense ratio. Just looking year-over-year at Skyward Specialty, you've taken it down from 27% to 24.3%. You mentioned, Andrew, in the prepared remarks, AI. Maybe you could talk about what you're doing there to get the expense ratio down and where it could go from here, from 24.3%. Maybe throw in Apollo's 37.5% and where that could go as well. Andrew Robinson: Good morning, Andrew. Thank you for the question. Let me just knock off the second part, the Apollo point. I would point to the first six months. I think that there were some adjustments that are flowing through that probably just make the six-month reference a better reference for you. Look, let me now sort of just revert to the Skyward Specialty and talk a little bit about the operating leverage and kind of the expense ratio reduction. I will say, we're obviously being disciplined around any kind of cost and expenditure. We've long discussed, if you will, our investment in technology. We've long discussed what we're doing in machine learning and predictive analytics. We've highlighted our success in different businesses. A&H is a great example. We've talked about SkyView, our award-winning underwriting workstation which is the window pane, the single window pane that our underwriters access everything through. We've tried to put some new information out there for investors. You'll see in our investor deck, we talk about bionic underwriting, which is this idea of being able to automate the ingestion of everything that is submission related, something that I think any high-quality insurer is addressing, with augmentation and agentic underwriting and learning to sort of help the underwriters be far more efficient and effective. We give some statistics, right? 40% faster submissions to underwriters, 35% improvement in speed to quote. Half of our underwriting is benefiting from machine learning and predictive analytics. Just to bring it to life, to give you a real sense for this, within Surety, where we're clearly winning in comparison to our competitors. We are well down the path of using agentic AI at the individual principal level to sort of manage our portfolio. We have built capabilities called SkyScore, which allows us to ingest all financial information without any human intervention to score every principal on 10 different dimensions and an aggregate score for our underwriters to be able to look at their portfolios and management. It's trended over time. It shows future-facing sort of expectations on kind of this financial strength. At the individual opportunity level, so underwriting a bond, right? We use agentic AI to ingest bond forms, to ingest contracts without any human intervention. We do 15-point checklists for bond forms, 12-point checklists for contracts against what we view as the best practices. We're looking for things like force majeure and payment terms and termination conditions, and we're rating all of these key elements and delivering it to our underwriters. I've used this analog of if you have an American football kickoff, instead of starting on your own 25-yard line, a touchback, we're starting the very first step of our underwriting process on the opponent's 20-yard line. I think you're seeing that not just in our results, like why Surety is growing profitably so much, as an example, but also you're seeing it in the expense ratio. I'm not going to set out any sort of expectations or goals there. We're working hard at it. It requires investment, and it requires a capability inside the organization that has to be broad-based. It doesn't sit in one separate unit. It has to be across the organization. I've talked about that we have a lead, but that lead, if you sort of let up, will be fleeting. I feel like we'll stay at it, and hopefully, we'll continue to see the benefits flow through to our financials. Andrew Kligerman: Got it. That's helpful. It sounds like, though, you can, Andrew, kind of keep the expense ratio level here as you continue to invest? Andrew Robinson: Yeah, it's funny you say that, Andrew, because I mentioned in the last call that doing this stuff is really expensive, and you are oftentimes doing things well in advance of realizing the benefits. I think that if you don't have the ability to grow profitably, then there is a risk to back up on your expense ratio. I think we're at the other end of the spectrum. I think that we have the ability to continue to fund the next piece, the next piece, the next piece, and not have our expense ratio back up. That's how we see things right now, and I hope that the good trends that are visible in our results continue. Time is going to tell whether that's the case. Andrew Kligerman: Makes sense. Then just my follow-up is around the global property area. You talked about, in your prepared remarks about the pricing pressure there. What do you like in global property? I know it's down 15% in the quarter, what were you seeing that you liked that you put on your books? Andrew Robinson: Well, actually, in this quarter, I think we added one account, just to be clear. We renewed kind of mid-20s accounts and these are mostly longstanding accounts, and I think that we had a good retention rate there. I tell you what, there isn't a lot to like because there's just, I think, one of our companies that we respect a great deal, their CEO kind of described the marketplace as, I don't know what the right words were, kind of idiotic. I think that we're seeing that absolutely to be true. On the flip side, look, we have a world-class team. They've delivered really well. The fac markets give us the opportunity to certainly buttress the net pricing effects versus the gross pricing effects. When we talk about pricing, we're giving you gross numbers. Our net pricing effects are far lower because we write very large lines. We write the first layer above the self-insured retentions. We use fac basically to lay off at a time when the first line is a very large line, right? Because that's what soft markets do. The fac markets allow us to retain profitability that looks far better than on a gross line basis. Our underwriters are great at it. So if you're in a soft market, that's the one benefit that you get. I think we do it really well. We're entirely sensible, and you can see it in the fac that a business that went from $235 million, I believe, in 2024 is going to be far smaller this year. Andrew Kligerman: Thanks for that. Andrew Robinson: Thank you. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Michael Zaremski from BMO. Please go ahead. Michael Zaremski: Hey, great. Good morning. Maybe a couple Apollo questions, if I may. The 6% growth this quarter on premiums, is that seasonally impacted? I know 1Q was very strong at 45% or did anything in the operating environment change a bit? Andrew Robinson: Hey, Mike, good morning, and thank you for the question. The answer is absolutely. I think probably the most, excuse me, the most evident point is that I think as most people know, the second quarter is a very large quarter for the property business on a global basis. Property is an area within Apollo's portfolio comparable to the Skyward Specialty portfolio that is being managed accordingly based on the market. I think what you're seeing is exactly what you identified, which is there's some seasonality that's running through, and as a result, I don't necessarily believe that the growth that you're looking at for the second quarter is indicative of how we can and will perform as a business. Again, time's going to tell on that as well. Michael Zaremski: That makes sense. I guess just probably for Mark, amortization expense came in around $14. I think the guide was $8.5. Any color there or any changes to the run rate we should be factoring in? Obviously, understand this is a non-cash. Mark Haushill: Hey, Mike, it's Mark. The amortization of about $8.5 should be normalized. I'm scrambling. I don't know where you're getting your $14, but I'll follow-up with you after that. $8's the run rate. Michael Zaremski: Okay, got it. Just, I think lastly, I asked this last quarter too, on the underwriting fee income again for Apollo. It came in around $23 million first half. The guide is still $30-$35 for full year. Just there's a seasonality in that as well, right? For the lower levels in the second half of the year. Andrew Robinson: Hey, Mike, this is Andrew. We like to set out guidance that we have a good level of confidence that we can achieve. I think that's probably playing through in our numbers. The team at Apollo has done an outstanding job across everything, right? You see that in the premiums under management and particularly the growth in the premiums that drive fees, which is really the third party syndicate management piece of it, the Platform Partner syndicate piece. I think we feel pretty good about the progression there. I will say to you that I do, though, believe that when Mark referenced that number, it's really kind of effectively a net number. It's the fees that you see less the specific costs associated with those fees. We've also said, Mike, just to remind you, that we believe that's a leverage-kind of result, right? You see the costs are pretty flat quarter one to quarter two, and yet the fees have gone up quarter one over quarter two. We do think that there's leverage there. I just want to connect to the guidance there was really kind of the net of that number, the gross fees less the cost. Mark Haushill: That's right. Michael Zaremski: Got it. Just as a follow-up, Mark, my bad on the amortization. Yeah, in line with guides. Okay. Thank you for all the color. Andrew Robinson: Sure. Thank you, Mike. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Mark Hughes from Truist. Please go ahead. Mark Hughes: Yeah, thank you. Good morning. Andrew Robinson: Hey, Mark. Mark Hughes: In the A&H business, Andrew, Andrew Robinson: Yeah Mark Hughes: ...your distribution, your growth has been quite strong there. To what extent new distribution is driving that, new staff? Could you talk a little bit more about the kind of operationally, what's driving that? When you reflect on kind of the historical experience in the losses within A&H, is there more naturally a little more underlying variability, or should that be as predictable as the overall P&C exposures? Andrew Robinson: Hey, Mark. Good morning. Thanks by the way for the question. Look, I think on A&H, the first thing I would say is the growth I really believe is driven by this. We've kind of just hit it on the product market fit, right? We've always been focused on a medical cost management angle, and that is singularly our focus and as you know, smaller accounts. That really has been consistent. I think the thing that changed that we've talked about when we started a group captive concept, we opened up another market, and that has really inflected for us in a positive way. I think that's the principal driver. That said, distribution has changed over time. A lot of our distribution, if you go back to the early days when I joined was really through TPA relationships. Today, we're accessing most of our growth through retail brokers and folks that control the benefits accounts for the benefit relationships for our clients. I think that what we are hearing from our distribution is that we are literally one of one in what we're doing. There just isn't somebody who's got the product that we're providing. I don't think it'll be like that forever. I would just tell you that growth more recently has benefited from two large industry reinsurers pulling out whose results were absolutely awful as a result of bad behaving MGAs. That's just given more fuel to the market. Whether that directly flows to us or we get the second order effects, it's not necessarily clear, but it's just another impetus. On the talent side, look, we talk about talent all the time. We're a talent-driven organization. Mike Romica, our leader in that business, has done a world-class job. It's probably the place where we have the most young talent coming into our company. At the same time, we've certainly taken amazing talent from very high-quality competitors, and the talent tends to follow the growth that we see as opposed to leading the growth. Oh, I'm sorry. The last point. Sorry, Mark. Mark Hughes: Yeah. Andrew Robinson: The other point is you asked about the volatility of the results. Look, the only thing I can refer to you is the same result that I've referred to before on the loss ratio, our 71 in the 24 NAIC published results was amongst the top five of the top 50. That's a great result in an absolute sense, in a relative sense. Look, of course, there's volatility, but it isn't wild volatility that they can have. Of course today, given the size of the business, the range of outcomes that we might see versus when I first came in and we reduced the business and it was $80 million or $90 million, I think we're certainly operating in a far narrower range, and it's incredibly short-tail business. It's just like you can't hide from the results in any way around this. It's right in front of you. Mark Hughes: Very good. Then, I'm not sure if you've touched on this earlier, but any update on the autonomous vehicle initiative within Apollo? Andrew Robinson: Look, we're working hard, but I don't have anything formal to update you. We won't be shy when we have meaningful announcements to talk about. I can say that Chris Moore and the team at ibott are working closely with our team in the U.S. to target and go after some business directly out of the United States that hopefully we'll see some outcomes on here in the near future. Mark Hughes: Very good. Thank you. Andrew Robinson: Thank you. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Paul Newsome from Piper Sandler. Please go ahead. Paul Newsome: Good morning. Thanks for the call. Stepping back, if we look at the first six months of premium change, quite a bit of mix change happening. If that mix change continues, how should we think of some of the basic metrics? I assume you're essentially pricing everything at the same kind of returns, does the tail extend given what we're doing? Are some of these, like A&H has, I think, a higher Expense Ratio. How should we think of some of those basic metrics, assuming not necessarily next quarter, next year and thereafter if that mix change continues? Andrew Robinson: Paul, thanks. Good morning, thanks for the question. Great question. Obviously something that we're thinking about, as we've talked about near since the day we went public, we're trying to be very intentional around our portfolio construction. Well, I think the first question is, I really do hope our investors appreciate how sensible we are being. Right? We're not showing up on these calls and saying we've delivered 20% or 25% growth in casualty I don't believe that's possible to do that sensibly and to grow margins, plain and simple, it's certainly not true. It's long since not been true on property. I would just say I hope there's an appreciation that we're being sensible. I think the answer to your question are the following items. First off, our tails are getting shorter and shorter through the first six months of the year inclusive of Apollo, more than 60% of our business has liability durations less than two years. We're definitely getting shorter. Relative to Skyward Specialty, we would expect to see the Loss Ratio continue to rise. Mark had said to me this morning that he expects for a full year for our accident years to be up like 1 plus maybe in a bit percent over the prior year in aggregate, driven entirely by mix that's really AG and A&H earning in, and a commensurate offset in our acquisition expense ratio. Combined Ratio expectations don't change, the geography, to your point, does change. I think the thing that we have to pay attention to as an executive team, I think the Apollo dimension of our business overall really aids in this regard, is really about the diversification of the portfolio. We want to maintain balance even in light of the fac that there are some places where we clearly can see profitable growth and in other cases we're shrinking, it isn't in our long-term interest to over-rotate. We're working hard on that. I don't think that we will exit this year with any division larger than maybe 17-ish% of our overall portfolio. I think that's absolutely tolerable. I'd say that as long as our largest division stays below 20%, it feels like the right kind of spread of risk. I do think that because we're intentional in this regard, we're thoughtful in this regard, we're not going to over-rotate in a way that should something change, that we find ourselves in a less attractive position. This is something that we're paying attention to, and I think that we're going to have to be on top of it as we roll forward to next year and the year after. Paul Newsome: Another sort of big picture question, it's going to answer by the way, thank you, is I think after you purchased Apollo, there was some thought that you may sort of reconsider kind of the structure of how you use your capital using more Lloyd's syndicates, perhaps for the U.S. businesses, changes in reinsurance. What's your most recent thinking about that sort of structure moving between fee and risk businesses and from a big picture perspective? Andrew Robinson: Listen, we love the highly aligned on the underwriting capital-light model that Apollo has. It's a fantastic innovation, delivers high returns on capital, nothing has changed in our thinking. Our head of corporate development, Shakoor Khan, has been working closely with Taryn on looking at a whole account quota share, whether that's something that goes into the 2027 year or the year after, into 1969 or we do something different. Maybe we create a dedicated syndicate or some other structure. We're still in the process of figuring that out. That said, one thing that we're going to avail ourselves to is we've talked about effectively the internal reinsurance syndicate that Apollo created in 1972, so that effectively that they can more directly share in the economics of their outwards reinsurance placement. We're going to start rolling into next year using some portion of our outwards reinsurance into that so that is what I would describe as an itty bitty first step in that direction. Our thesis has not changed, Paul, and I think that we'll continue to sort of develop our thinking, and when we're confident in the right way to do it that's the best for us and our shareholders, and we have a good view about what to do with that capital that effectively would be released as a result of that. Then at that point, we'll act. Paul Newsome: Great. Thank you very much. Andrew Robinson: Thank you. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Randy Binner from Texas Capital. Please go ahead. Randy Binner: Hey, good morning. Thanks. I had a follow-up to Michael Zaremski's line of questioning on just kind of the fee income from Apollo. I guess we're getting a pretty good idea of what the pre-tax margin is. Maybe it's kind of coming in the 60s, just by my calculation. Maybe you had a guide. The question though is the pre-tax margin we're seeing this year vis-á-vis that guide of $30 million-$35 million of pre-tax income, is that where that margin stays, or does that margin scale as that business grows now that it's a part of Skyward? Andrew Robinson: Hey, Randy. Thanks for the question. Welcome to covering us at Skyward. We are pleased to have you with us. Look, I think that we have said that it is a business that we believe has real earnings leverage, meaning that done the right way, and I will say that Taryn and the team there are doing a lot to make sure that we do this the right way. It is a levered kind of result. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but we are running $4 million-$5 million of cost per quarter. I do believe that there is not a linear relationship between the growth and the fees and that underlying cost. That, of course, is something that we like done the right way. We want to see that continue to grow. I think we are an incredibly valuable managing agent to Lloyd's because the stuff that we are doing there is all new and different and valuable to the growth at Lloyd's and consistent with kind of our positioning as really being sort of more at the edge of innovation. Whether it be the first of its kind dedicated syndicate that we did with Coface on trade credit or the first parametric syndicate with NormanMax. These are great things for everybody. We like being close to that edge of innovation. It helps our business, and we deliver a huge amount of value. If we can make sure that we have got an operating model that allows us to manage the cost base, it is a levered result. Relative to guidance, look, as a matter of process, we are just not updating guidance. We don't sort of do something at the beginning of the year and give you new updates. We are sticking by our guidance. We think our guidance is sensible guidance. If we do what we said we should do, we should be able to meet and exceed that guidance, and I think that's our track record is three and a half years being a public company, never once have we not met our guidance, and we would like to see that trend continue. Randy Binner: No, understood. That's super helpful. I was thinking about it more kind of 2027, 2028, just longer term, if that there's a lot of leverage, as you said, if that margin gets better. I had just another quick one on Apollo. I think you mentioned that the book there was seeing low single-digit decline in price, the underwritten book. Andrew Robinson: Yep. Randy Binner: Can you comment on how that compares to Lloyd's more broadly or just kind of put it in the context of that market? Andrew Robinson: That's a great question. I think to answer that the right way, I would want to get James and Taryn to access what's out there in the Lloyd's domain. I believe that we're doing better than Lloyd's, just to be direct. You have to unpack at the class level, right? Because there's a lot of mix going on there. Just a reminder, Lloyd's has a far greater reinsurance concentration as a percentage of the overall mix. I think that we don't write property cat. There's a lot of differences there. Listen, I want all of our pricing to be above loss cost trend. If you're better than some benchmark, I don't want to go take a victory lap without sort of having real information in front of us. We can follow-up with you on that. I think that we're doing the right things. I will say to you that James Slaughter, our Chief Underwriting Officer there really kind of works this angle which is much more around price adequacy. What might be happening here is underlying that is that we are shedding accounts where you probably could get a better price outcome, but the price adequacy or excuse me, the overall price adequacy and the underwriting quality isn't where you want it to be. If you're facing particularly the classes that are soft or softening, what you want to do is you really want to move your portfolio to the highest quality business. There's a dynamic that goes on here that's more than just sort of the straight what's happening on pure rate. Randy Binner: Nope. Understood. That's helpful. Thanks for the answers. Andrew Robinson: Thank you. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Andrew Andersen from Jefferies. Please go ahead. Andrew Andersen: Hey, good morning. I wanted to go back on A&H for a second. You had mentioned some industry participants have struggled in stop loss and capacity has left some of that market. Are you seeing more growth there and better pricing, better terms, or simply more opportunities? And perhaps how has that changed your view of the appropriate loss ratio for that portfolio? Andrew Robinson: By the way, that's a great question, Andrew. Thanks for that. I guess that what we probably would say is there's more opportunity. It has been quarter-on-quarter that we've been surprised to the upside. Of course, one-one is really kind of the big date. All right? I think where this will probably be most visible is as we head towards one-one. I would say that some of the guys that left the market, we wouldn't certainly directly compete against them. Anytime you have a irresponsible competitor, even if you're not directly competing against them, it has a second order effect, right? Because there's just second order competition that runs through the market, and second order availability of business that runs through the market. Others might write that business that they were writing, we might then go write more of the business that we want to write. I do think it really does come back to our growth has been largely driven by, I think, a really effective product market fit. We hit the market at a time where medical cost management has really come into focus. It's particularly true with the smaller accounts. I think from a loss ratio, look, this is a business that's a very capital-light business, the allowable loss ratio sits above where it is that we currently pick it. We haven't really moved that, right? I think our general sense here is it's kind of a great position to be in all regards, from a growth perspective, from a profit perspective. We obviously like the short tail nature of it. The duration of the liabilities is very good. I think in aggregate, I wouldn't push down on loss ratio or competition. I just think we're executing with a really great set of products and a great business that we feel that we're going to be successful almost regardless, the market just adds a little bit for us. Andrew Andersen: Thanks. Just on the agriculture side, perhaps you could talk a bit about what's driving the growth there and maybe what you're seeing in terms of planting season and how that could shake out. Also just maybe some more texture on ag, because I don't think it's U.S. MPCI, how should we think about that throughout the year? Andrew Robinson: Yeah. It's a great question. Let me be direct on just first on 2Q. Most of the growth in 2Q was really around premium true-ups, a lot of that had to do with the U.S. dairy livestock program. To your point, I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, Andrew, but I think that our U.S. MPCI exposure is less than probably $50 million of our total premium. We're certainly not overweight there. It is, as we've talked about on the crop side, a diversified global book all subsidized programs where we believe that we have a structure where we can write business with good outcomes and diversify the book so that we're not overweight. The growth that you really have seen has come through the U.S. dairy livestock program. It's a price protection program. We're the ones who opened up that market with effectively a quota share reinsurance solution amongst the major AIPs where we have relationships, I think, with maybe all but one or two of them. We have a great solution. I think that what validates that is we have seen tremendous interest, and 7/1 is the renewal date for the U.S. program. We have quota share reinsurance support that came in for a large portion of our book for 7/1 that effectively allowed us to make the trade to lock in profits via cede, while still providing plenty of upside for our reinsurers. I think that's a validation of what we're doing. I actually was exchanging emails with the CEO of one of those companies today and saying that we're going to sit down and have a broader conversation about strategically working together because of what we're doing there and the IP that we have. I feel great about that. Today, it's probably the total market is $2 billion-ish of the U.S. Dairy Livestock Program, and it's growing. We're well-positioned to grow with that program as the U.S. government grows it. Andrew Andersen: Thank you. Andrew Robinson: Thank you. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Bob Farnam from Brean Capital. Please go ahead. Bob Farnam: Hey there, good morning. I wanted to continue on that question from Andrew. On the global ag book, I was thinking, all right, where are your largest exposures outside of the U.S.? I was thinking because I'm not sure what, if any, impact there is from Europe with high temperatures, droughts, wildfires, and smoke and whatnot. I didn't know if that had much of an impact on your ag book. Andrew Robinson: Yeah. Hey, Bob. Thanks for the question. Listen, I think that everything that's going on in the world, fertilizer pricing, obviously weather, all those things play in. It's one of the reasons that we have a well-diversified book. That diversification includes Canada, Brazil, China, other markets in Asia. Actually, there isn't a lot of well-structured subsidized markets in Europe that we access, that we certainly have exposure there, but it's a lesser exposure. Again, it starts with we want market structures where we can enter, participate, know that we can have sort of a good outcome and sort of bound the downside, if you will, and diversification's a big part of it. I have to say to you that it's everything you named plus, right? Certainly fertilizer prices have to be part of the calculus of anybody in the world of crop today. I think that all those things play to why it is that we've built that particular business the way that we have. Bob Farnam: Great. Thanks. Point taken. It's not just Europe that's having issues, it's everywhere. Thanks for the color on that. Andrew Robinson: Thank you. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Mark Hughes from Truist. Please go ahead. Mark Hughes: Andrew, where do you think we are? How close are we to the bottom on property? Andrew Robinson: Mark, that's a good question. Let me say this. Mark Hughes: I really think. Andrew Robinson: First up, yeah, listen, obviously the property market, the first thing I'd say to you, the property market is obviously a big market, right? You have everything from large to small, CAT to non-CAT, surplus lines to admitted, and it doesn't all move in lockstep. There are places where I'm sure that the softness is less intense. Look, I think we're in a world today where there's just too much capital knocking around in the insurance industry, certainly where this all started, larger accounts and CAT. Anybody with a model can show up and try to write some business, right? It doesn't take a lot of rocket science. One of the reasons that as a company, we've avoided CAT as a principal dimension because it comes and goes. It's hard to say because we're obviously not going to have a set of market-moving kinds of events in the North Atlantic hurricanes based on everything that the meteorologists are picking. You wouldn't expect for things to change anytime soon. Listen, in certain cases, the crazies have taken over, right? They're able to access capital. I don't understand why, because guys like us who basically put their capital to work every day should be able to do that sensibly, right? It's not that unrealistic to say, "Hey, listen, you can't cut prices by 20, 30% for the second or third year in a row and justify to yourself that's okay," right? I wish I knew. I wish our industry did not operate with these cycles, but it seems to do it, and it seems to have a short memory. I hope that as a result of that, whatever happens in the meantime, our investors look at us and say, "These guys are being incredibly sensible about how it is that we're deploying capital," and get rewarded for it and let the others sort of wash out while that happens. Mark Hughes: Thank you. Andrew Robinson: Thank you. Mark Hughes: Thank you. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Greg Peters from Raymond James. Please go ahead. Greg Peters: Hey, good morning. I'd probably touch on an area you haven't really talked much about yet, which is the investment income side of your results. Maybe you could just go through some of the line items there. Obviously, there's some movement. Andrew, as you know, I'm probably going to call out the alternative strategic. I know there has been some management changes at one of your former money managers there. Just curious about how you're thinking about that small piece of the puzzle. Mark Haushill: Hey, Greg, it's Mark. Let me go in reverse order if I can. In terms of the alts portfolio, we've talked about this for several quarters. Yeah, we're disappointed in the results. What I will say to you is we have been very intentional in terms of understanding the movements, the underlying changes. Having said that, there's not a whole lot we can do about it. We've been very disciplined and intentional around the performance of the portfolio. It's $65 million. I can't really add much to that other than that we're disappointed, but it's small. When I think about the rest of the portfolio, Greg, you've been with us since we went public. We said a couple of things. We said, "Look, we're going to de-risk. We want the portfolio to be generating consistent returns." That's what we've done. When I look at the portfolio in the aggregate between fixed income and short-term, about 2.5 of the 2.8 sitting in fixed income and short-term investments. We like the risk-adjusted returns right now. We put money to work at 5.6%. As long as we can generate those types of returns, we like it. We're not big fans of duration risk, we haven't changed the underlying construction of the portfolio. What I'd tell you is where the portfolio is right now, I love it. I like where we are, I like where we're putting money to work, and we're working through the alternatives. That's about all I can say. Greg Peters: Got it. Just back to the market commentary. In one of your answers, you called out the surety business. Really haven't talked about MGAs that much this call, but I know one of your peers had expressed some frustration with their surety business or the market, I think, was more their assessment. Then MGAs continue to be the talk of the town with whether they're behaving responsibly or not. Maybe you can close the loop and cover those two points for us. Andrew Robinson: Yeah. Greg, thanks for the question. Good morning, by the way. Listen, first off, I know you asked two pieces there, surety and MGAs. Just maybe for the avoidance of doubt, there are a small number of players who participate through MGAs in surety, but to be honest, they're de minimis in the grand scheme of things, and it's not actually something that we see impacting us. I would say more broadly, the market in any way, in surety. I can't speak to the other company. What I can tell you is, in unequivocally terms, I think we have the best team in the market. I think we have the best book of business. It's incredibly well-diversified between commercial and contract, inside of contract. It's unbelievably well-diversified, trades, SBA, non-SBA business, commercial. We've talked about market-leading products. We've had other companies call into Mark and say, "How did you do that?" Right? "How'd you come up with that?" I just gave an example early on the things that we're doing on the technology side. It's talent, technology, product, and I feel great. We are building a business the right way. Our results are outstanding, and we are becoming one of the true, really top-notch players in that market, and I'm incredibly proud of that. That business was $7 million when I joined, right? You take a look at where it is today. We'll cross $200 million here in run rate premium, generating unbelievable returns with loss ratios that are eye-wateringly good. Look, I don't need to pile on the MGAs. I've said this before, I think there are some outstanding MGAs out there, but there's also a lot of crap. At some point that stuff's going to get washed out, and it's supported by, we've had at least one company hit a trip wire on bad collateral recently. I just think fronted premium, that's going to come to roost. My example on A&H, two reinsurers leaving the market because they were burned by MGAs. That's a short-tail business, right, as compared to some of what's out there. Its time will come, right? One data point on A&H may be an early indicator, might not be an early indicator. We will see. But it's really not that hard to be able to look across the market and know who's misbehaving, whether they're direct writers or MGAs. You know the time will come. You just don't know when the time will come, right? The train crash is going to happen, but I can't tell you when it's going to happen. Stay tuned and you can ask the question in subsequent quarters, and maybe there will be some things that'll be visible. Until that time, we're just going to keep doing what we're doing. Greg Peters: Thank you. Mark Haushill: Thanks, Greg. Andrew Robinson: Thank you. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Meyer Shields from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. Please go ahead. Meyer Shields: Hey, good morning. This is Scott on for Meyer. Thanks for taking my question. My question, you guys noted in the press release that the Apollo segment was impacted by some cat losses in the Middle East. I'm just wondering, is Apollo taking advantage of rate increases as a result of the war? Are you guys staying more conservative in that area? Thank you. Andrew Robinson: Thank you. Great question. I'd say we're probably in the middle. It's a pretty dynamic situation, right? Ceasefires while ships moving through the strait are still being bombed, right? I think that probably caution, but seeking some opportunities. I think I mentioned this. I believe I mentioned this on the last call that examples of kind of business that we wrote were things that we were able to see meaningful price movements, but we would consider the exposure to be kind of second or third order relative to where the central action might be. These might be things like not targeted infrastructure in countries that are better protected. I think we're being sensible. It's a dynamic situation, we're not either playing defense, and we're also not sort of backing up the capital and saying, "Let's go lean into it." I really appreciate how our team in London is approaching it. I think it's kind of a sensible thing that they're doing. Hopefully, the losses that are extraordinary relative to the premium in the political violence market, that hopefully that creates a broad-based hard market, not just a localized one in the Middle East. I think we'll know more about that here over the coming few months. Meyer Shields: Great. Thank you. Andrew Robinson: Thank you. Operator: Thank you. This concludes the question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn it back to Jordan for closing remarks. Jordan Arnold: Thanks everyone for your questions, for participating in our conference call, and for your continued interest in Skyward. I am available after the call to answer any additional questions you may have. We look forward to speaking with you again on our third quarter 2026 earnings call. Thank you, and have a wonderful day. Operator: Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect. Before you buy stock in Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Skyward Specialty Insurance Group wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. 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As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Skyward Specialty Insurance Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Skyward Specialty (SKWD) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. SKWD delivered a solid second quarter of 2026, with operating earnings per share of $1.30, which increased 46.1% from the year-ago level and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13%. Total revenues were $489.53 million, which improved 53% year over year and beat the consensus mark by 6.5%. The second-quarter performance reflected strong premium growth and contributions from the Apollo segment, while underwriting remained profitable despite a slight increase in the combined ratio. Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. Quote Gross written premiums totaled $740.6 million, up 13.3% from the prior-year period’s level. Growth was broad-based, led by a 14.2% increase in the Skyward Specialty segment and a 5.6% rise in the Apollo segment, with Syndicate 1969's gross written premiums increasing 7.7%. Net earned premiums climbed to $444.5 million from $295.5 million a year ago, reflecting higher business volumes and contributions from the Apollo segment. Underwriting fee income of $12.6 million, generated by the Apollo segment, also contributed to the quarter’s top-line mix. Net investment income increased to $30.7 million from $18.7 million a year ago, driven by the addition of the Apollo portfolio, a higher yield environment, and a larger invested asset base. Within Skyward Group’s U.S. specialty operations, several underwriting divisions posted notable momentum. Accident & Health gross written premiums increased 57.8% year over year, Credit & Surety rose 15.6%, Global Agriculture advanced 95.8%, and Specialty Programs jumped 29.7%, helping offset declines in Captives, Energy Solutions and Global Property. The Skyward Specialty segment's loss and LAE ratio increased primarily because of shifts in business mix, driven by growth in Accident & Health and Global Agriculture. At the same time, the segment's expense ratio improved, driven by business mix shifts, enhanced operating efficiencies and scale benefits. Losses and loss adjustment expenses amounted to $276.7 million, up from $181.3 million in the prior-year quarter, consistent with the expansion of the premium base. The consolidated loss ratio deteriorated to 62.3% from 61.3% a year ago, primarily reflecting business-mix shifts within the Skyward Specialty segment. Total Cat loss and LAE increased to 1.9% from 1.4% a year ago. Underwriting, acquisition and insurance expenses rose to $123.3 million from $85.6 million a year ago, reflecting higher activity levels and a larger operating platform. On the ratio side, net policy acquisition costs increased to 16.0% from 15.1% a year ago, while the total expense ratio improved to 27.2% from 28.1%. The combined ratio increased slightly to 89.5% from 89.4% a year ago. On the balance sheet, cash and cash equivalents rose to $219.2 million from $168.5 million as of 2025-end. Total assets reached $6.8 billion as of June 30, 2026, up from $4.8 billion as of 2025-end. Notes payable jumped to $417.6 million from $100.4 million as of 2025-end. Book value per share was approximately $28.55, up 14.6% from the figure as of Dec. 31, 2025. SKWD currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Here are some stocks from the broader Finance space that have also reported their quarterly results: Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. KNSL, RLI Corp. RLI and Arch Capital Group Ltd. ACGL. Here's how they have performed: Kinsale Capital delivered second-quarter 2026 net operating earnings of $5.54 per share, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.6%. The bottom line increased 15.9% year over year. KNSL’s operating revenues increased 16.8% year over year to $548.5 million, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 12.3%. The quarterly results benefited from growth in net earned premiums, increased net investment income, favorable prior-year reserve development and disciplined underwriting. However, these gains were partially offset by lower gross written premiums and higher operating expenses. RLI reported second-quarter 2026 operating earnings of 83 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 16.9%. The bottom line increased 1.2% from the prior-year quarter. RLI’s operating revenues for the reported quarter were $463 million, up 4.9% year over year. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.6%. The quarterly results reflect continued premium growth and higher investment income. However, weaker underwriting performance in the casualty segment partly offset these positives. Arch Capital reported second-quarter 2026 operating income of $2.56 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.8%. The bottom line decreased 0.8% year over year. ACGL’s revenues of $4.43 billion declined 6.9% year over year and missed the consensus mark by 3.1%. The results reflected lower earned premiums and catastrophe pressure, partly offset by higher net investment income. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. (SKWD) : Free Stock Analysis Report RLI Corp. (RLI) : Free Stock Analysis Report Arch Capital Group Ltd. (ACGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. (KNSL) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Track your investments for FREE with Simply Wall St, the portfolio command center trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. Skyward Specialty Insurance Group (SKWD) is back in focus after reporting second quarter results on August 4, 2026, along with a completed share repurchase tranche that together highlight recent financial and capital allocation decisions. See our latest analysis for Skyward Specialty Insurance Group. At a latest share price of $63.63, Skyward Specialty Insurance Group has given investors a 36.28% 90 day share price return and a 156.47% three year total shareholder return, which points to strong momentum building around its earnings, buyback activity and recent Apollo Group Holdings acquisition. If recent results have you thinking about other insurance focused opportunities, it can be useful to compare with peers using a screener that highlights 20 top founder-led companies Skyward Specialty Insurance Group now combines strong recent earnings, a completed buyback and the Apollo Group Holdings deal in a single story. The real puzzle is whether the current share price already reflects that strength. With Skyward Specialty Insurance Group trading at $63.63 against a narrative fair value of $66.64, the current gap is modest but worth understanding in detail. Read the complete narrative. Curious what justifies this valuation edge for Skyward Specialty Insurance Group? The narrative leans heavily on compounding revenue, slightly wider margins, and a richer future earnings multiple. The full storyline connects these assumptions into a single fair value number that differs from where the market is pricing the stock today. Result: Fair Value of $66.64 (UNDERVALUED) Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts. However, Skyward Specialty Insurance Group still faces meaningful risks if softening commercial pricing pressures margins, or if key MGA and program manager partnerships stumble and slow premium growth. Find out about the key risks to this Skyward Specialty Insurance Group narrative. The earlier narrative points to Skyward Specialty Insurance Group looking 4.5% undervalued against a $66.64 fair value. The picture looks different when focusing on the P/E ratio. SKWD trades around 15x earnings, which is higher than the estimated fair ratio of 14.6x and well above both peer and US insurance industry averages around 8.8x and 11.8x. That gap suggests less room for error if growth or margins fall short. Which story do you put more weight on? See what the numbers say about this price — find out in our valuation breakdown. With the mix of optimism and caution around Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, it makes sense to review the numbers yourself and decide quickly where you stand. To see both sides in one place, take a closer look at the 3 key rewards and 1 important warning sign. If Skyward Specialty Insurance Group has caught your attention, broaden your options by scanning other opportunities that match different goals and risk levels using the Simply Wall St screener. Target potential mispricings by reviewing companies that stand out in our 49 high quality undervalued stocks. Prioritize resilience by checking stocks highlighted in the 78 resilient stocks with low risk scores. Spot early opportunities by searching the screener containing 19 high quality undiscovered gems before they are widely followed. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include SKWD. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

Interested in Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Strong second-quarter performance: Skyward Specialty’s diluted operating EPS rose 46% year over year to $1.30, while managed premiums increased 18% to $1.1 billion. The consolidated combined ratio was 89.5, reflecting continued underwriting profitability. Growth remains selective: Accident & Health, Global Agriculture, Credit & Surety and specialty programs drove premium growth, while the company pulled back from less attractive property and liability markets to prioritize margins over volume. Capital generation supports buybacks: Net investment income jumped more than 60% to $31 million, book value per share rose 15% to $28.55 and leverage declined. Skyward repurchased $10 million of stock during the quarter and increased its buyback authorization to $100 million. Skyward Specialty Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SKWD) reported higher second-quarter earnings and premium volume, supported by underwriting profitability, growth in several specialty businesses and increased investment income. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Robinson called the quarter “simply outstanding,” saying the company continued to benefit from its diversified portfolio and “rule our niche” strategy. Diluted operating earnings per share increased 46% from a year earlier to $1.30, while annualized operating return on equity was 19%. → SpaceX’s First Earnings Report Could Decide Whether Shorts or Bulls Have Control Chief Financial Officer Mark Haushill said net income totaled $49 million and operating income was $59 million. For the first six months of 2026, operating income rose to $116 million and operating return on equity reached 20.4%. Total managed premiums increased 18% year over year to $1.1 billion during the quarter, while gross written premiums rose 13% to $741 million. Within the Skyward Specialty segment, gross written premiums increased 14% to $668 million, led by Accident & Health, Global Agriculture, Credit & Surety, and Specialty Programs. → 3 Drone Stocks That Should Soar After the Summer Slump Apollo gross written premiums rose 6% to $73 million. The company said Apollo’s specialty lines in Syndicate 1969 grew 8% from the prior-year period. Fee-generating gross written premiums increased 29% to $318 million, including 80% growth from Platform Partner syndicates and 13% growth from capital-aligned syndicates. Apollo generated $13 million of underwriting fee income in the quarter. Haushill cautioned that Apollo’s quarterly results can be affected by seasonal production patterns and said the second-quarter growth rate should not necessarily be viewed as indicative of longer-term trends. → The Bitcoin Comeback May Already Be Underway—2 ETFs for Exposure The company reported a consolidated combined ratio of 89.5, including 1.9 percentage points of catastrophe losses. The ex-catastrophe combined ratio was 87.6. Skyward Specialty’s combined ratio was 86.9 and its ex-catastrophe combined ratio was 85.6. Skyward Specialty’s loss ratio was 62.6, including 1.3 points of catastrophe losses. Its non-catastrophe loss ratio increased 1.4 points from a year earlier to 61.3, which Haushill attributed to business mix, particularly the increased contribution from the higher-loss-ratio Accident & Health and Global Agriculture divisions. The company reported no reserve development during the quarter. Skyward Specialty’s expense ratio improved 2.7 points year over year to 24.3. Robinson said expense discipline, technology investments, machine learning and artificial intelligence are helping improve underwriting efficiency. He cited the company’s SkyView underwriting workstation and technology used in its surety operation to automate intake and analysis of financial information, bond forms and contracts. Apollo posted a combined ratio of 97.6, including 5.4 catastrophe-loss points primarily related to the Middle East conflict. Its non-catastrophe loss ratio was 54.7. Haushill said Apollo’s year-to-date combined ratio of 91.3 and expense ratio of 34.9 provide a more representative view of its performance than the quarterly figures, which included expense classification adjustments. Robinson said Skyward continues to find growth opportunities in Accident & Health, Credit & Surety and Global Agriculture, which he described as relatively insulated from pressures in traditional property and casualty markets. He also identified Healthcare Solutions, power and renewables, political risk and political violence, and Platform Partner syndicates as areas with growth potential. At the same time, the company is taking a selective approach in global and excess-and-surplus property, miscellaneous professional liability and some E&S liability markets. Robinson said pricing and underwriting conditions have become less attractive in those areas and that Skyward is prioritizing profitability over volume. In global property, Robinson said the company added only one account during the quarter and renewed roughly two dozen mostly longstanding accounts. He said facultative reinsurance helps reduce the impact of declining gross rates because Skyward writes large lines and can transfer portions of those exposures. Robinson said Skyward’s pure rate was in the high single digits excluding global property and in the low single digits including it. Retention remained in the 70% range, while submissions increased by a percentage in the teens. Apollo’s risk-adjusted rate change was a low-single-digit decline. Regarding the changing business mix, Robinson said more than 60% of the company’s business through the first half of 2026, including Apollo, had liability durations of less than two years. He said management expects the full-year accident-year loss ratio to rise by roughly one percentage point or somewhat more because of Agriculture and Accident & Health mix, with a corresponding benefit to the acquisition expense ratio. He said the company’s combined-ratio expectations have not changed. Net investment income increased more than 60% from the prior-year period to $31 million, driven primarily by $29 million of fixed-income portfolio income. Haushill said the company invested new money at yields of 5.6%, while the fixed-income portfolio’s embedded yield was 5.3%. The company said alternative and strategic investments remained pressured by lower valuations in certain limited partnership investments. Those exposures totaled about $68 million of $2.8 billion in invested assets. Haushill said approximately $2.5 billion of invested assets were in fixed-income and short-term investments and described the portfolio as positioned for consistent, risk-adjusted returns. Stockholders’ equity increased to about $1.3 billion at June 30, while book value per share rose 15% from year-end to $28.55. Financial leverage declined two points from the first quarter to 26%. During the quarter, Skyward repaid $50 million of its $150 million term loan due at the end of 2027. The company repurchased 223,000 shares for approximately $10 million during the quarter. In July, it increased its share repurchase authorization to $100 million from $50 million. Robinson said the company is generating excess capital and views buybacks as an attractive, opportunistic use of capital given its earnings outlook, returns and valuation. Management also said it continues to evaluate ways to apply Apollo’s capital-light Lloyd’s platform more broadly. Robinson said Skyward expects to begin using a portion of its outward reinsurance through Apollo’s internal reinsurance syndicate in 2027, while longer-term options such as a whole-account quota share or a dedicated syndicate remain under review. Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc (NASDAQ: SKWD) is a publicly traded specialty property and casualty insurance underwriter. The company focuses on niche market segments, offering tailored insurance solutions designed to address the specific risk profiles of its target industries. Through its underwriting platform, Skyward Specialty provides coverage in areas including general liability, professional liability, commercial package, inland marine and other selected specialty lines. Its products are distributed primarily through a network of wholesale brokers, program administrators and managing general agents, enabling the company to reach a diverse client base and adapt quickly to evolving market needs. Headquartered in the United States, Skyward Specialty Insurance Group operates across multiple states and applies data-driven underwriting and risk management practices to maintain disciplined reserving and consistent performance. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Skyward Specialty Insurance Group Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for August 2026.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Diluted Operating Earnings Per Share: Increased 46% year-over-year to $1.30. Annualized Operating Return on Equity: 19% for the quarter. Gross Written Premiums: Increased 13% year-over-year to $741 million. Managed Premiums: Increased 18% to $1.1 billion. Net Income: $49 million for the quarter. Operating Income: $59 million for the quarter. Combined Ratio: 89.5, including 1.9 points of catastrophe losses. Ex-CAT Combined Ratio: 87.6. Skyward Specialty Gross Written Premiums: Increased 14% to $668 million. Apollo Gross Written Premiums: Increased 6% to $73 million. Fee Generating Gross Written Premiums: Increased 29% to $318 million. Underwriting Fee Income: $13 million during the quarter. Skyward Specialty Combined Ratio: 86.9, with an ex-CAT combined ratio of 85.6. Apollo Combined Ratio: 97.6, including 5.4 points of catastrophe losses. Net Investment Income: Increased to $31 million, up more than 60% from the prior year period. Book Value Per Share: Increased 15% from year-end to $28.55. Stockholders' Equity: Approximately $1.3 billion at June 30. Share Repurchases: Repurchased 223,000 shares for approximately $10 million during the quarter. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 1 Warning Sign with SPCX. Is SKWD fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: August 05, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Diluted operating earnings per share increased 46% year-over-year to $1.30, with an annualized operating return on equity of 19%. Gross written premiums grew 13% and managed premiums grew 18%, driven by strong performance in accident and health, agriculture, credit and surety, and specialty programs. The combined ratio improved to 89.5, with an ex-CAT combined ratio of 87.6, reflecting strong underwriting discipline and operational leverage. Apollo's fee-based income grew significantly, with underwriting fee income of $13 million and a 29% increase in fee-generating gross written premiums, highlighting the capital-light business model's success. The company repurchased shares and increased its buyback authorization to $100 million, signaling confidence in its earnings outlook and capital position. Market conditions remain challenging in property and miscellaneous professional lines, with pricing pressure and competitive dynamics leading to selective underwriting and reduced volume in these areas. Apollo's combined ratio was 97.6, impacted by 5.4 points of catastrophe losses related to the Middle East conflict, and its risk-adjusted rate change moderated to a low single-digit decline. The non-CAT loss ratio for Skyward Specialty increased 1.4 points year-over-year due to business mix, with higher loss ratios in accident and health and agriculture divisions. Results from alternative and strategic investments remained pressured due to lower valuations in certain limited partnership investments, though the exposure is small. The company noted that loss cost trends, particularly in occurrence liability and bodily injury lines, remain uncertain, prompting a defensive stance in those areas. Q: The company repurchased shares and increased its buyback authorization to $100 million. Does this signal less underwriting capacity ahead, or would you tap debt markets to fund buybacks?A: Andrew Robinson (CEO) explained that the company is generating excess capital despite growing at an attractive rate. The decision to reduce leverage was preemptive to create headroom for buybacks. He noted the stock trades at roughly 12 times 2026 earnings guidance, making it "immensely attractively valued" and informing their opportunistic approach to repurchases. Q: The underlying loss ratio deteriorated year-over-year. What are your thoughts on loss cost trends, and are you choosing higher loss picks?A: Andrew Robinson (CEO) clarified that the accident year change is entirely due to business mix, with growth from A&H and agriculture earning in. He emphasized Skyward has been one of the earliest and most action-oriented companies regarding loss cost trend concerns, particularly in occurrence liability with bodily injury exposure. The company has intentionally steered away from such exposures and keeps limits short where exposed. Q: The expense ratio improved significantly year-over-year. What role is AI playing, and where can the expense ratio go from here?A: Andrew Robinson (CEO) detailed their "bionic underwriting" initiatives, including automated submission ingestion, 40% faster submissions to underwriters, and 35% improvement in speed to quote. He highlighted Sky Score in Surety, which uses Agentic AI to score every principal on 10 dimensions without human intervention. He declined to set specific expense ratio targets but expressed confidence in continuing to fund investments without the ratio backing up. Q: What do you like in global property given the pricing pressure, and what were you seeing that you liked that you put on your books?A: Andrew Robinson (CEO) stated there "isn't a lot to like" in the current global property market, describing it as "idiotic." However, he noted the company's world-class team is using facultative reinsurance to buttress the net, writing large first layers above self-insured retentions. The business is expected to be "far smaller" this year, down from $235 million in 2024. Q: Apollo's premium growth was only 6% this quarter versus 45% in Q1. Is that seasonally impacted, or did the operating environment change?A: Andrew Robinson (CEO) confirmed the slowdown is absolutely seasonal, noting Q2 is a very large quarter for global property business, which is being managed accordingly within Apollo's portfolio. He stated the Q2 growth is not indicative of how the business can and will perform long-term. Q: Underwriting fee income came in around $23 million in the first half versus the $30-35 million full-year guide. Is there seasonality in the lower levels for the second half?A: Andrew Robinson (CEO) explained the guidance represents a net number (fees less specific costs). He noted the team at Apollo has done an outstanding job, particularly in growing third-party syndicate management premiums. He emphasized the business has real earnings leverage, with costs remaining flat quarter-over-quarter while fees increased. Q: What's driving the strong growth in A&H, and is there more natural underlying variability in losses versus traditional P&C exposures?A: Andrew Robinson (CEO) attributed growth to product-market fit, particularly the group captive concept that opened a new market. Distribution has shifted from TPP relationships to retail brokers. He noted two large industry reinsurers pulled out due to "bad behaving MGAs," providing more fuel. On volatility, he cited the 71 loss ratio in 2024 NAIC published results as top-five among the top 50, noting the business is incredibly short-tail. Q: With significant mix change happening, how should we think about basic metrics like loss ratio and tail if this continues?A: Andrew Robinson (CEO) said tails are getting shorter, with more than 60% of business having liability durations less than two years. He expects the full-year accident year loss ratio to be up about 1% or a bit more, driven entirely by mix from A&H and agriculture, with a commensurate offset in acquisition expense ratio. He emphasized maintaining portfolio balance, with no division expected to exceed roughly 17% of the overall portfolio. Q: Are you seeing more growth, better pricing, or simply more opportunities in A&H stop-loss given industry participants struggling?A: Andrew Robinson (CEO) said there's more opportunity, with quarter-on-quarter upside surprises. He noted the business is capital-light with an allowable loss ratio above current picks. The growth is driven by effective product-market fit, with medical cost management coming into focus, particularly for smaller accounts. He expressed confidence in executing successfully "almost regardless" of market conditions. Q: What's driving agriculture growth, and how should we think about the business throughout the year?A: Andrew Robinson (CEO) explained Q2 growth was driven by premium true-ups, largely from the US Dairy Livestock Program. The company opened that market with a quota-share reinsurance solution among major AIPs. At the 7/1 renewal, they secured quota-share support for a large portion of the book, locking in profits via seed while providing upside for reinsurers. The total market is approximately $2 billion and growing. Q: How close are we to the bottom on property pricing?A: Andrew Robinson (CEO) noted the property market doesn't move in lockstep across segments, but there's "too much capital knocking around" in the industry. He expressed frustration that competitors are cutting prices 20-30% for the second or third year in a row. Without major market-moving events like North Atlantic hurricanes, he doesn't expect changes anytime soon, emphasizing the company's sensible capital deployment approach. Q: Can you provide color on the investment income line items, particularly the alternative and strategic investments?A: Mark Hauschel (CFO) acknowledged disappointment in alts results but noted the portfolio is only $65 million. He emphasized the company has been intentional about de-risking, with about 2.5% of the $2.8 billion portfolio in fixed income and short-term investments. New money is being put to work at 5.6% yields, and they're not big fans of duration risk, so the portfolio construction remains For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.