WRB

CNA Financial Corporation CNA reported first-quarter 2026 core earnings of 83 cents per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 44.3%. The bottom line decreased 19.4% year over year. The quarterly results of CNA reflected higher claims and expenses, a sharp deterioration in the combined ratio, which pressured underwriting income. These factors were partially offset by modest premium growth, improved investment income and decreased catastrophe losses. Total operating revenues of CNA Financial were $3.3 billion, up 2.2% year over year, driven by higher premiums and net investment income. The top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.3%. CNA Financial Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | CNA Financial Corporation Quote Net written premiums of Property & Casualty Operations increased 1% year over year to $2.7 billion. The new business grew 3% to $581 million. Net investment income rose 1% year over year to $610 million. The increase was supported by higher fixed income returns, partly offset by weaker performance in limited partnerships and equities. Our estimate for net investment income was $640 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $640.5 million. Total claims, benefits and expenses increased 4% to $3.4 billion, primarily due to higher insurance claims and policyholders’ benefits, amortization of deferred acquisition costs, other operating expenses and interest expenses. Our estimate was $3.2 billion. Catastrophe losses were $88 million, narrower than the loss of $96 million in the year-ago quarter. Underlying underwriting income declined 28% year over year to $144 million. The combined ratio deteriorated 380 basis points (bps) year over year to 102.2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 92.5, while our estimate was 92.5. Specialty’s net written premiums decreased 1% year over year to $834 million. Our estimate was $875.5 million. The combined ratio deteriorated 760 bps to 102.7. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 90.3. Commercial’s net written premiums decreased 1% year over year to $1.5 billion. Our estimate was $1.5 billion. The combined ratio deteriorated 240 bps to 103.5. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 94.2. International’s net written premiums increased 16% year over year to $308 million. Our estimate was $254.4 million. The combined ratio deteriorated 50 bps to 95.9. The Zacks Con...

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited AXS reported first-quarter 2026 operating income of $3.42 per share, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.23 and rose 7.9% year over year. The quarterly results benefited from higher net premiums earned and stronger underwriting income, partly offset by lower net investment income and higher expenses. Axis Capital Holdings Limited price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Axis Capital Holdings Limited Quote Total operating revenues of $1.7 billion marginally beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.4%. The top line rose nearly 7.7% year over year on higher premiums earned. Net premiums written increased 9% to $1.9 billion, driven by a 24% rise in the Insurance segment, partially offset by a 13% decline in the Reinsurance segment. Net investment income decreased 11.1% year over year to $184.7 million, due to lower income from cash. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $225.1 million. Total expenses in the quarter increased 3.8% year over year to $1.3 billion due to higher net losses and loss expenses, acquisition costs and reorganization expenses. Our estimate was pegged at $1.4 billion. Pre-tax catastrophe and weather-related losses, net of reinsurance, totaled $48 million, including $33 million from natural catastrophes. The remaining $15 million was attributable to the Middle East conflict. AXIS Capital’s underwriting income of $187 million increased 15% year over year. The combined ratio improved to 89.8 in the quarter from 90.2 a year ago, reflecting stronger underwriting performance. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 93.1. Our estimate was 92.6. Insurance: Gross premiums written improved 19.8% year over year to $2 billion. Our estimate was $1.8 billion. Net premiums earned increased 23.8% year over year to $1.3 billion, driven by higher gross premiums written and a lower cession rate in liability lines, partly offset by a higher cession rate in property lines. Our estimate was $1.1 billion. Underwriting income of $157.4 million increased 17% year over year. The combined ratio improved 40 basis points to 86.3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the combined ratio was pegged at 88.4. Reinsurance: Gross premiums written decreased 2.2% year over year to $1.1 billion, mainly due to non-renewals and reduced line sizes in liability and motor lines, in line with our estimate of $1.1 billion. Net premiums earned i...

NMI Holdings NMIH reported first-quarter 2026 operating net income per share of $1.28, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.9%. The bottom line remained flat year over year. The quarterly results reflected higher premiums earned, improved net investment income and consistent growth in the high-quality insured portfolio. These were offset by lower persistency. NMI Holdings Inc price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | NMI Holdings Inc Quote NMI Holdings’ total operating revenues of $183 million increased 5.8% year over year on higher net premiums earned (up 4%) and net investment income (up 21%). Revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.4%. Primary insurance in force increased 5.2% year over year to $222.3 billion. Our estimate was $222.1 billion while the consensus estimate was $222.2 billion. Annual persistency was 82.2%, down 210 basis points (bps) year over year. New insurance written was $12.3 billion, up 33% year over year, reflecting strong business production. Underwriting and operating expenses totaled $30.6 million, up 1.5% year over year. Insurance claims and claim expenses were $20.6 million, which surged more than fourfold year over year. The loss ratio was 13.3, which deteriorated 1030 bps. The adjusted expense ratio of 19.3 improved 400 bps year over year, while the adjusted combined ratio of 33.1 deteriorated 990 bps. Book value per share, a measure of net worth, was up 16.6% year over year to $34.57 as of March 31, 2026. NMI Holdings had $70.7 million in cash and cash equivalents, up 60.8% from the 2025 end level. The debt balance of $417.5 million increased 0.1% from the end of 2025. The annualized adjusted return on equity was 15.2%, which contracted 290 bps year over year. Total PMIERs available assets were $3.6 billion. Net risk-based required assets totaled $2.2 billion at the end of first-quarter 2026. NMIH currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Selective Insurance Group SIGI reported first-quarter 2026 operating income of $1.69 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.3%. The bottom line decreased 11% year over year. Operating revenues of $1.4 billion increased 6.4% from the year-ago quarter’s level, driven primarily by higher net premiums earned and net investment income. The top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0....

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. THG posted first-quarter 2026 operating income of $5.25 per share, which rose 35.7% year over year and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.14 by 26.8%. Total revenues rose 6.1% year over year to $1.7 billion but missed the consensus mark of $1.72 billion by 1.2%. Results reflected firm pricing and improved underlying loss trends, helping drive a record operating return on equity of 20.3%. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. Quote Underwriting profitability strengthened in the quarter, with the consolidated combined ratio improving to 91.7% from 94.1% a year ago. Catastrophe losses were $98.9 million, adding 6.3 points to the combined ratio. Excluding catastrophes, the combined ratio improved to 85.4%, supported by a 2.3-point year-over-year decline in the loss and loss adjustment expense ratio. The current accident year combined ratio, excluding catastrophes, was 87.0%, pointing to better core underwriting performance. Net premiums written increased to $1,559.7 million from $1,510.8 million, aided by renewal pricing and disciplined growth across businesses. Core Commercial generated net premiums written of $630.4 million, up 4.3% from the prior-year quarter. Renewal price increases were 8.6%, while rate increases were 7.5%, reflecting continued emphasis on adequate pricing and targeted appetite across small commercial and middle-market accounts. Profitability improved meaningfully as underwriting actions flowed through. The segment’s combined ratio was 96.6% versus 103.4% a year ago, with the total loss and LAE ratio improving to 63.9% from 70.0%. Prior-year favorable development, excluding catastrophes, was 0.3 points, and GAAP underwriting profit swung to $17.8 million from a loss of $20.0 million in the prior-year period. Specialty net premiums written increased 2.3% year over year to $366.7 million. Renewal price increases were 4.6% and rate increases were 2.4%, indicating steady momentum while maintaining underwriting discipline across the segment’s marine, professional, and other specialty offerings. The segment produced a combined ratio of 84.2%, an improvement from 87.7% in the prior-year quarter. A lower total loss and loss adjustment expense ratio of 47.8% (down from 50.7%) helped lift GAAP underwriting profit to $56.1 million from $41.2 milli...

The Allstate Corporation ALL reported a first-quarter 2026 adjusted net income of $10.65 per share, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 43.3%. The bottom line surged 201.7% year over year. Operating revenues of $17.3 billion grew 3.2% year over year. However, the top line missed the consensus mark by 2%. Allstate’s quarterly results were driven by higher property and casualty insurance premiums, improved net investment income and lower catastrophe losses. Lower expenses and strong underwriting performance further aided results. The Allstate Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | The Allstate Corporation Quote Property and casualty insurance premiums improved 5.8% year over year to $15.6 billion. Net investment income of $938 million advanced 9.8% year over year on the back of a growing market-based portfolio. The metric beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $895 million and our estimate of $935 million. Market-based investment income rose 10% year over year to $791 million in the quarter under review. Total costs and expenses were $13.8 billion, which decreased 12.1% year over year and was lower than our estimate of $15.5 billion. The year-over-year decline was due to decreased property and casualty insurance claims and claims expenses, accident, health and other policy benefits and Pension and other postretirement remeasurement (gains) losses. Catastrophe losses of $1.2 billion dropped 43.7% year over year. Allstate’s pretax income increased significantly, up 332.3% year over year to $3.1 billion. As of Dec. 31, 2025, total policies in force were 212 million, up 2.5% year over year. The Property-Liability segment reported premiums earned of $14.8 billion in the first quarter, up 5.5% year over year, driven by higher average premiums in homeowners insurance and growth in policies in force. However, the metric missed both the Zacks Consensus Estimate and our estimate of $15.1 billion. Underwriting income in the segment surged 638.3% year over year to $2.7 billion. The underlying combined ratio improved 280 basis points to 80.3%. The Protection Services segment’s revenues advanced 7.2% year over year to $922 million, aided by Allstate Protection Plans and Roadside businesses. The metric lagged our estimate of $958.9 million. Adjusted net income of $47 million declined 14.5% year over year. Allstate exited the first quarter with a cash balan...

W. R. Berkley’s first quarter results reflected a mixed operating environment, with management citing heightened competition in certain insurance and reinsurance markets as a key factor. CEO W. Robert Berkley, Jr. described the industry as “more competitive today than it was yesterday,” pointing to increased activity from national carriers and evolving risk appetites. The quarter was further shaped by lower catastrophe losses, robust investment income, and resilience in core underwriting, despite ongoing pricing pressure in select property and casualty lines. Management emphasized the value of cycle management in adapting to dynamic market conditions. Is now the time to buy WRB? Find out in our full research report (it’s free). Revenue: $3.69 billion vs analyst estimates of $3.76 billion (4% year-on-year growth, 1.8% miss) Adjusted EPS: $1.30 vs analyst estimates of $1.14 (14.1% beat) Adjusted Operating Income: $616.1 million vs analyst estimates of $643.8 million (16.7% margin, 4.3% miss) Operating Margin: 16.7%, up from 15.2% in the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $25.82 billion While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are 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. Elyse Greenspan (Wells Fargo) asked for clarity on how the company balances rate versus growth amid increased competition. CEO W. Robert Berkley, Jr. clarified that while competition is up, there are still attractive pockets for growth, especially in casualty, and that the top line improved through the quarter. Robert Cox (Goldman Sachs) inquired about property market pricing adequacy and professional lines growth. Berkley, Jr. noted margin erosion is most evident in reinsurance property, while professional lines growth was driven by exposure, particularly outside the U.S. Andrew Kligerman (TD Cowen) pressed on capital management choices between buybacks, dividends, and growth. Berkley, Jr. explained capital deployment depends on market opportunities and valuation, with no set road map but an ongoing focus on shareholder returns. Michael Zaremski (BMO Capital Markets) questioned trends in loss cost assumptions, especially in social inflation-affected lines. Berkley, Jr. said the...

Brown & Brown, Inc.’s BRO first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.39 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.2%. The bottom line increased 7.8% year over year. The quarterly results were supported by higher commissions and fees, improved investment income and higher adjusted EBITDAC, though partially offset by elevated expenses and flat organic growth. Total revenues of $1.9 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.4%. The top line improved 35.4% year over year. The upside can be primarily attributed to commission and fees, which grew 35.7% year over year to $1.8 billion. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for commission and fees by 1%. Improved investment and other income added to the top line. Brown & Brown, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Brown & Brown, Inc. Quote Organic revenues remained flat year over year at $1.3 billion. Investment income and other income increased 10.5% year over year to $21 million. Adjusted EBITDAC was $731 million, up 36.6% year over year. The EBITDAC margin improved 40 basis points year over year to 38.5%. Total expenses increased 40% to $1.36 billion due to a rise in employee compensation and benefits, other operating expenses, amortization, depreciation and interest. Brown & Brown exited the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1 billion, which decreased 7% from the 2025-end level. Long-term debt was $6.5 billion as of March 31, 2026, down 4.5% from the 2025-end level. Net cash provided by operating activities was $262 million, up 23% year over year. The board of directors approved a regular quarterly cash dividend of 16.5 cents per share to be paid out on May 20, 2026, to shareholders of record as of May 11, 2026. BRO currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. The Travelers Companies, Inc. TRV reported first-quarter 2026 core income of $7.71 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10.5%. The bottom line surged fourfold year over year. Travelers’ total revenues remained flat from the year-ago quarter at $11.9 billion. The top-line figure, however, missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.7%. Net written premiums increased 2% year over year to a record $10.3 billion, driven by strong growth across Business Insurance and Bond & Specialty Insurance segments. Net investment income increase...

Track your investments for FREE with Simply Wall St, the portfolio command center trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. W. R. Berkley (WRB) just posted first quarter results that put fresh numbers around its recent share performance and valuation. For investors, the new revenue, earnings and buyback figures give clearer context for the stock. See our latest analysis for W. R. Berkley. The latest earnings update, recent share repurchases and leadership changes sit against a mixed price backdrop, with a 2.76% 1 month share price return but a 4.08% year to date share price decline. At the same time, the 5 year total shareholder return of 109.41% points to a much stronger longer run picture. If W. R. Berkley’s mix of steady insurance earnings and capital returns interests you, it can be useful to compare it with other financials-focused names by scanning 18 top founder-led companies With earnings per share at US$1.31, a recent buyback, and the share price only slightly below the latest analyst target, the real question for you is whether W. R. Berkley is still mispriced or the market is already factoring in future growth. The most followed valuation narrative puts W. R. Berkley’s fair value at $68.33, slightly above the last close of $66.53, which helps frame today’s discount. Read the complete narrative. Want to see what is backing that fair value call? The narrative leans heavily on margins, steady earnings and a tight link between buybacks and future per share profits. Result: Fair Value of $68.33 (UNDERVALUED) Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts. However, softening commercial and reinsurance pricing, together with inflation driven pressure on loss costs, could challenge margins and test the current undervaluation thesis. Find out about the key risks to this W. R. Berkley narrative. While the SWS DCF model points to a fair value of $123.18 per share and suggests W. R. Berkley is 46% below that level, the P/E tells a very different story. The stock trades on 13.8x earnings, richer than the US Insurance industry at 11.6x, the peer average at 11.2x, and its own fair ratio of 11.4x. For you, that gap raises a simple question: is this a margin of safety or a valuation risk waiting to close? See what the numbers say about this price — find out in our valuation breakdown. The mix of cautious optimism an...

RLI Corp. RLI reported first-quarter 2026 operating earnings of 83 cents per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.3%. The bottom line decreased 13.2% from the prior-year quarter. The quarterly results reflect underwriting strain from catastrophe losses, though investment income and casualty growth offer resilience. Operating revenues for the reported quarter were $454 million, up 4.4% year over year, driven by higher net premiums earned and net investment income. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1%. RLI Corp. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | RLI Corp. Quote Gross premiums written (GPW) increased 3% year over year to $503.9 million, driven by strong growth in the casualty segment (up 10%). Our estimate was $523.9 million. Net investment income increased 15.2% year over year to $42.3 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was $40.2 million, while our estimate for the metric was pegged at $38.3 million. The investment portfolio’s total return was -0.4% in the quarter. Total expenses increased 8% year over year to $385.7 million, primarily due to higher loss and settlement expenses and interest expense on debt. Our estimate was $349.4 million. Underwriting income fell 18% year over year to $57.8 million. Our estimate was $71.4 million. The combined ratio deteriorated 370 basis points (bps) year over year to 86, reflecting higher catastrophe losses. Our estimate was 82. Casualty lines’ GPW rose 10.3% year over year to $307.0 million. The figure was below our estimate of $300.9 million. The underwriting income increased significantly to $7.3 million from $2.1 million, up 249% year over year, supported by strong premium growth. The combined ratio improved 200 bps year over year to 97.1%. The figure was below our estimate of 99%. Property lines’ GPW fell 9.0% year over year to $154.8 million. The figure was below our estimate of $180.1 million. The underwriting income declined to $48.2 million, down 15.3% primarily due to catastrophe losses and lower premium volumes. The combined ratio deteriorated 480 bps year over year to 61.9%. Our estimate was 55%. Surety lines’ GPW remained largely flat at $42.1 million. The figure was on par with our estimate. The underwriting income dropped sharply to $2.3 million from $11.6 million, reflecting weaker reserve development and higher expenses. The combined ratio worsened significantly to 93....

Globe Life Inc. GL reported first-quarter 2026 net operating income of $3.43 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.9%. The bottom line, however, improved 11.7% year over year, driven by higher insurance underwriting income. While higher premiums, stronger underwriting income, and increased investment income supported results, these gains were offset by elevated expenses, resulting in an earnings miss. Globe Life Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Globe Life Inc. Quote Globe Life reported total premium revenues of $1.3 billion, up 6% year over year. This upside was primarily driven by higher premiums from Life and Health insurance. Net investment income increased 3.3% year over year to $289.8 million. The company reported operating revenues of $1.56 billion, up 5.3% from the year-ago quarter’s level. The improvement was driven by growth in Life and Health insurance premiums and improved net investment income. The top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.4% Excess investment income, a measure of profitability, increased 2.2% year over year to $36.7 million. Total insurance underwriting income increased 5% year over year to $352.4 million. The increase can be attributed to higher Health underwriting income. Administrative expenses were up 7.7% year over year to $94.3 million. Total benefits and expenses increased 5.3% year over year to $1.2 billion, primarily due to higher total policyholder benefits, amortization of deferred acquisition costs, commissions, premium taxes, and non-deferred acquisition costs, and other operating expense. Premium revenues at Life increased 3% year over year to $853.2 million, driven by higher premiums written by distribution channels like American Income and Liberty National. American Income and Liberty National rose 5% and 4%, respectively. Net sales of $157.4 million increased 6% year over year. Underwriting margins increased 3% to $349.1 million. Health insurance premium revenues rose 13% year over year to $416.9 million, primarily driven by higher premiums from United American, Family Heritage and Direct to Consumer. Net health sales increased 58% to $106.2 million. Underwriting margins increased 12% to $94.5 million. Shareholders’ equity, excluding accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI), as of March 31, 2026, increased 5.3% year over year to $7.8 billion. As of March 31, 2026, Globe...

Selective Insurance Group SIGI reported first-quarter 2026 operating income of $1.69 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.3%. The bottom line decreased 11% year over year. The company’s quarterly performance reflects significantly higher catastrophe losses and weaker underwriting, partially offset by strong investment income tailwinds. Operating revenues of $1.4 billion increased 6.4% from the year-ago quarter’s level, driven primarily by higher net premiums earned and net investment income. However, the top line misses the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.5%. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Selective Insurance Group, Inc. Quote On a year-over-year basis, net premiums written ("NPW") decreased 1% to $1.3 billion, due to a decline in standard personal lines and standard commercial lines. The figure was on par with our estimate. After-tax net investment income increased 18% year over year to $113 million. Underwriting income of $17 million declined 53% year over year, caused by higher catastrophe losses and an increased loss ratio. The combined ratio deteriorated 220 basis points year over year to 98.3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was 98.3, while our estimate was 98.1 Total expenses rose 7% year over year to $1.2 billion, mainly due to loss expenses incurred, corporate expenses and other expenses. The figure was on par with our estimate. Standard Commercial Lines’ NPW was down 1% year over year to $992.4 million, due to lower new business. This was below our estimate of $908.4 million. The combined ratio was 100.2, deteriorating by 380 basis points year over year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was 99, while our estimate was 98.1. Standard Personal Lines’ NPW declined 6% year over year to $82.5 million, reflecting reduced new business volume, while underwriting performance improved meaningfully. The average renewal price rose 10.1%, and retention was 78%. The figure was below our estimate of $89.6 million. The combined ratio was 92.8, improved significantly by 520 basis points. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 101, while our estimate was 106.5. Excess & Surplus Lines’ NPW rose 1% year over year to $150.7 million, driven by average renewal pure price increases of 4.1%. Our estimate was $174 million. The combined ratio was 89.5, improving 300 basis points year over year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate...

W.R. Berkley (WRB) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.3 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.13 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.01 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +15.04%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this insurance company would post earnings of $1.14 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.13, delivering a surprise of -0.88%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. W.R. Berkley, which belongs to the Zacks Insurance - Property and Casualty industry, posted revenues of $3.71 billion for the quarter ended March 2026, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.28%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $3.53 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. W.R. Berkley shares have lost about 5.6% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 3.9%. While W.R. Berkley 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 W.R. Berkley 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...