Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Brown & Brown's (BRO) Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates, Rise Y/Y

Read MoreHide Full Article

Brown & Brown, Inc.’s (BRO - Free Report) first-quarter 2022 adjusted earnings of 78 cents per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4%. The bottom line improved 11.4% year over year.

The results reflect improved organic growth and higher commissions and fees, partly offset by higher expenses.

Brown & Brown, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Brown & Brown, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Brown & Brown, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Brown & Brown, Inc. Quote

Q1 in Details

Total revenues of $904.7 million outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.3%. The top line improved 11% year over year. The upside can primarily be attributed to increased commission and fees.

Commissions and fees grew 11.1% year over year to $904.3 million. Organic revenues improved 7.8% to $846.4 million in the quarter under review.
Investment income decreased 33.3% year over year to $0.2 million.

EBITDAC was $319.1 million, up 9.4% year over year. EBITDAC margin contracted 50 basis points year over year to 35.3%.

Total expenses increased 11% to $639.7 million, courtesy of a rise in employee compensation and benefits, other operating expenses, amortization, depreciation and interest expenses.

Financial Update

Brown & Brown exited first-quarter 2022 with cash and cash equivalents of $1.7 billion, up more than two-fold from the 2021-end level.

Long-term debt of $3.5 billion as of Mar 31, 2022 was up 76.6% from 2021 end.

Net cash provided by operating activities in the first quarter was $103.6 million, down 24.9% year over year.

Dividend Update

Concurrent with the earnings release, Brown & Brown declared a cash dividend of 10.25 cents per share for the first quarter. The dividend will be paid out on May 18, 2022 to shareholders of record as of May 9.

Zacks Rank

Brown & Brown currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Performance of Some Other Insurers

RLI Corp. (RLI - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2022 operating earnings of $1.43 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 40.2%. The bottom line improved 64.4% from the prior-year quarter.

Gross premiums written increased 22% year over year to $359.2 million. This uptick can be attributed to the solid performance of Casualty (up 14.3%), Surety (up 47%) and Property segments (up 7.2%). Net investment income increased about 9% year over year to $17.9 million.

The Travelers Corporation, Inc. (TRV - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2022 core income of $4.22 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 14%. The bottom line increased 54.6% year over year.

Net written premiums increased 11% year over year to $8.4 billion, driven by strong retention rates, higher new business premiums and positive renewal premium changes across all the segments.

The Progressive Corporation’s (PGR - Free Report) first-quarter 2022 earnings per share of $1.12 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.24. Also, the bottom line declined 34.9% from the year-ago quarter.

Net premiums written were $13.2 billion in the quarter, up 12% from $11.7 billion a year ago. Net premiums earned grew 13% to nearly $11.8 billion.

Published in