AXA Targets More Growth With New Targets

By Andrea Figueras

AXA said earnings should keep growing over the next few years as the French insurer intends to gain market share after years of reorganization.

The new growth plan, which includes targets for 2027-29, builds on the repositioning the company has carried out in recent years to create a simpler organization, it said Tuesday.

AXA targets a compound annual growth rate for underlying earnings per share for the period of between 7% and 9% as well as an underlying return on equity of 15% to 17%.

For 2026, the company is guiding for EPS growth at the top end of its 6%-8% outlook, and return on equity at the upper end of its 14%-16% guidance range.

The total payout ratio for the next years is expected at 75% of underlying EPS.

Under the new strategy, AXA aims to boost the deployment of artificial intelligence in order to improve underwriting, efficiency, and customer service quality.

The company said the plan also focuses on broadening the customer base and deepening relationships with existing customers, while also reinforcing the insurer's competitiveness despite what it called a more challenging environment.

The group expects a midteens compound annual growth rate in book value per share and expects cumulative cash remittance of around 25 billion euros ($29 billion), higher than the 21 billion euros for the 2024-26 period.

Meanwhile, for the current year, AXA forecasts underlying earnings of about 8.6 billion euros, which compares with 8.4 billion euros in 2025.

Write to Andrea Figueras at andrea.figueras@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 15, 2026 01:28 ET (05:28 GMT)