Company Reports

MetLife’s strategic priorities, laid out in its “New Frontier” plan, include extending its leading position in its US group benefits business, increasing its business mix from the firm’s retirement and international business segments, and growing its asset management business to over $1 trillion in assets under management, or AUM. Said otherwise, the firm plans to shift its exposure away from more volatile US individual underwriting, which we view as prudent. Overall, we like the steps that the company has taken to simplify its business and reduce risk, including divesting its US retail arm, which had focused on variable annuities and universal life policies with secondary guarantees. We expect the firm’s earnings quality to continue to improve as its closed blocks gradually wind down.

MetLife reported solid second-quarter results, as adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.43, up 20% year over year. This translated into an adjusted return on equity of 17%, at the top end of the company's target range of 15%-17%.

MetLife reported solid first-quarter earnings, with adjusted earnings of $1.6 billion, up 18% year over year and well ahead of the low-single-digit growth posted in full-year 2025.

MetLife’s strategic priorities, laid out in its “New Frontier” plan, include extending its leading position in its US group benefits business, increasing its business mix from the firm’s retirement and international business segments, and growing its asset management business to over $1 trillion in assets under management, or AUM. Said otherwise, the firm plans to shift its exposure away from more volatile US individual underwriting, which we view as prudent. Overall, we like the steps that the company has taken to simplify its business and reduce risk, including divesting its US retail arm, which had focused on variable annuities and universal life policies with secondary guarantees. We expect the firm’s earnings quality to continue to improve as its closed blocks gradually wind down.

MetLife reported solid fourth-quarter earnings results, as adjusted earnings came in at $1.7 billion, up 18% year over year. The 2025 adjusted return on equity was 15.9%, up 70 basis points from a year ago and in line with the life insurer's medium-term target of 15%-17%.

MetLife’s strategic priorities, laid out in its “New Frontier” plan, include extending its leading position in its US group benefits business, increasing its business mix from the firm’s retirement and international business segments, and growing its asset management business to over $1 trillion in assets under management, or AUM. Said otherwise, the firm plans to shift its exposure away from more volatile US individual underwriting, which we view as prudent. Overall, we like the steps that the company has taken to simplify its business and reduce risk, including divesting its US retail arm, which had focused on variable annuities and universal life policies with secondary guarantees. We expect the firm’s earnings quality to continue to improve as its closed blocks gradually wind down in its MetLife Holdings segment.

MetLife reported solid third-quarter earnings results, as adjusted earnings came in at $1.6 billion, up 15% year over year. Adjusted return on equity was 16.7%, in line with the life insurer's medium-term target of 15%-17%.

MetLife’s strategic priorities, laid out in its “New Frontier” plan, include extending its leading position in its US group benefits business, increasing its business mix from the firm’s retirement and international business segments, and growing its asset management business to over $1 trillion in assets under management, or AUM. Said otherwise, the firm plans to shift its exposure away from more volatile US individual underwriting, which we view as prudent. Overall, we like the steps that the company has taken to simplify its business and reduce risk, including divesting its US retail arm, which had focused on variable annuities and universal life policies with secondary guarantees. We expect the firm’s earnings quality to continue to improve as its closed blocks gradually wind down in its MetLife Holdings segment.

We are transferring coverage of MetLife to a new analyst. The firm is one of the largest US life insurers, with particular strength in the group benefits business. MetLife also has exposure to various international markets like Japan, Mexico, and Brazil.

MetLife reported disappointing second-quarter numbers, as adjusted earnings came in at $1.36 billion or $2.02 per share, down 11% from a year ago. Adjusted ROE was 14.6%, below the life insurer's medium target of 15%-17%. Shares went down around 5%-6% in the after-hours trading.

MetLife reported decent first-quarter numbers, as adjusted earnings came at $1.35 billion, or $1.96 per share, up 7% year over year. The firm reported an adjusted return on equity of 14.4% during the quarter and announced a retail variable annuity risk transfer deal.

MetLife provides a variety of insurance and financial-services products, including life, dental, disability, vision, accident and health, stable value, and annuities in various countries. It is a leader in the attractive group benefits business in the US, where products are sold through long-standing relationships with corporate employers. This business is relatively capital-light and entails lower risk because the company can reprice its products quickly based on experience. Recent acquisitions and investments in new product segments (such as pet insurance, health savings accounts, and Versant Health) should enable MetLife to offer a comprehensive suite of products in the group benefits segment and expand its market share.

MetLife reported solid numbers in the fourth quarter as adjusted earnings came at $1.45 billion or $2.08 per share during the quarter, up 8% year over year. The firm reported an adjusted return on equity of 15.3% during the quarter.

No-moat-rated MetLife reported a lackluster set of numbers in the third quarter as profitability was adversely impacted by softer underwriting margins in the group benefits business, lower variable investment income, and a lower rate outlook. The firm reported adjusted earnings of $1.38 billion, or $1.93 per share, down 1% compared with $1.95 per share in the third quarter of the previous year. The company reported an annualized adjusted return on equity of 14.6% during the quarter, which was in management’s target range of 13% to 15%. The third-quarter results were impacted by weaker investment margins and a materially unfavorable underwriting experience in the group benefits business primarily driven by a liability refinement during the annual actuarial assumption review. Shares were trading about 5% lower after MetLife reported results. We do not plan on changing our $68 per share fair value estimate for MetLife after incorporating the third-quarter results and continue to believe that shares are slightly overvalued.

MetLife provides a variety of insurance and financial-services products, including life, dental, disability, vision, accident and health, stable value, and annuities in various countries. It is a leader in the attractive group benefits business in the US, where products are sold through long-standing relationships with corporate employers. This business is relatively capital-light and entails lower risk because the company can reprice its products quickly based on experience. Recent acquisitions and investments in new product segments (such as pet insurance, health savings accounts, and Versant Health) should enable MetLife to offer a comprehensive suite of products in the group benefits segment and expand its market share.

No-moat-rated MetLife reported a good set of numbers in the second quarter, driven by robust underwriting margins in the group benefits segment and higher interest rates. The firm reported adjusted earnings of $1.63 billion, or $2.28 per share, up 17.5% compared with $1.49 billion, or $1.94 per share, in the second quarter of the previous year. The company reported annualized adjusted return on equity of 17.3% during the quarter, which was higher than management’s target of 13% to 15%. The second-quarter results benefited from favorable underwriting margins in most business segments and higher recurring net investment income leading to favorable investment margins. The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.545 per share in the second quarter, which represents a 2.8% dividend yield as of the current stock price. The adjusted book value per share, which removes the impact of accumulated other comprehensive income, was reported at $53.10 per share, down 1% compared with $53.60 per share in the second quarter of the previous year. We do not plan on materially changing our $66 per share fair value estimate for MetLife after incorporating the second-quarter results.

No-moat-rated MetLife reported a decent set of numbers in the first quarter, even as weaker underwriting margins in the group benefits segment weighed on overall results. The firm reported adjusted earnings of $1.33 billion, or $1.83 per share, up 20.4% compared with $1.18 billion, or $1.52 per share in the first quarter of the previous year. The company reported an annualized adjusted return on equity of 13.8%. The first-quarter results were marked by mixed underwriting margins in different business segments and higher recurring net investment income. MetLife paid a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share in the fourth quarter, which represents a 3.0% dividend yield as of the current stock price. The company also announced the addition of $3 billion to its repurchase authorization, signaling continued capital return to shareholders through share repurchases. The adjusted book value per share, which removes the impact of accumulated other comprehensive income, or AOCI, was reported at $53.13 per share, down 1% compared with $53.83 per share in the first quarter of the previous year. We are maintaining our $66 per share fair value estimate for MetLife after incorporating the first-quarter results.

MetLife provides a variety of insurance and financial services products, including life, dental, disability, vision, accident & health, stable value, and annuities in various countries. The company is a leader in the attractive group benefits business in the U.S. where products are sold through long-standing relationships with corporate employers. This business is relatively capital-light and entails lower risk because the company can reprice its products quickly based on experience. The company's recent acquisitions and its investments into new product segments (such as pet insurance, health savings accounts, and Versant Health) will enable it to offer a comprehensive suite of products in the group benefits segment and expand its market share.

No-moat-rated MetLife reported a middling set of numbers in the fourth quarter. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.44 billion, or $1.93 per share, up 14% compared with $1.26 billion, or $1.59 per share, last year. Annualized adjusted return on equity was 14.6% in the quarter. The results were marked by strong underwriting margins in group benefits and retirement and income solutions, as well as higher net recurring investment income. The company paid a dividend of $0.52 per share in the quarter, which represents a 3.2% yield at the current stock price. Adjusted book value per share, which removes the impact of accumulated other comprehensive income, was $54.30, up 1% from $53.80 in the fourth quarter of the previous year. We are maintaining our $63 fair value estimate after incorporating the results.

No-moat-rated MetLife reported a decent set of numbers for the third quarter. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.47 billion, or $1.95 per share, up 35% from $1.08 billion, or $1.36 per share, in the year-ago quarter. The company reported an annualized adjusted return on equity of 14.9%. The quarter was marked by strong underwriting results and materially higher interest income. MetLife paid a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, which represents a 3.5% dividend yield at the current stock price. Adjusted book value per share, which removes the impact of accumulated other comprehensive income, was reported at $53.00, up 2% from $52.40 in the third quarter last year. We are maintaining our $63 fair value estimate after incorporating third-quarter results.