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Globe Life Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on Solid Underwriting

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Key Takeaways

  • Globe Life's Q3 operating income rose 38% year over year, topping estimates by 5.9%.
  • Higher Life and Health insurance premiums drove a 30% jump in underwriting income.
  • Book value per share climbed 11.5% to $93.63 as Globe Life repurchased $113 million in stock.

Globe Life Inc.’s (GL - Free Report) third-quarter 2025 net operating income of $4.81 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.9%. The bottom line improved 38% year over year, primarily driven by higher insurance underwriting income.

Globe Life Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Globe Life Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Globe Life Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Globe Life Inc. Quote

Behind the Headlines

Globe Life reported total premium revenues of $1.2 billion, up 5% year over year. This upside was primarily driven by higher premiums from Life and Health insurance.

Net investment income increased 0.3% year over year to $286 million.

The company reported operating revenues of $1.5 billion, up 4.1% from the year-ago quarter. The improvement was driven by growth in Life and Health insurance premiums, higher net investment income and other income. The top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.1%.

Excess investment income, a measure of profitability, decreased 7% year over year to $38.6 million.

Total insurance underwriting income increased 30% year over year to $503.1 million. The increase was due to higher Life and Health underwriting income.

Administrative expenses were up 1.5% year over year to $89.7 million.

Total benefits and expenses decreased 3.9% year over year to $1 billion, primarily due to lower total policyholder benefits.

Segmental Results

Premium revenues at Life increased 3% year over year to $844.5 million, driven by higher premiums written by distribution channels like American Income and Liberty National. American Income and Liberty National both rose 5%.

Net sales of $150.5 million increased 2% year over year. Underwriting margins increased 24% year over year to $481.6 million.

Health insurance premium revenues rose 9% year over year to $386.5 million, primarily driven by higher premiums from United American, Family Heritage, American Income and Direct to Consumer. Net health sales increased 21% year over year to $71.42 million. Underwriting margins increased 25% year over year to $108.3 million.

Financial Update

Shareholders’ equity, excluding accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI), as of Sept. 30, 2025, increased 7.5% year over year to $7.66 billion.

As of Sept. 30, 2025, Globe Life reported book value per share, excluding AOCI, of $93.63, up 11.5% year over year.

Operating return on equity, excluding AOCI, was 16.6% for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2025, which expanded 130 basis points year over year.

Share Repurchase

Globe Life repurchased shares worth $113 million in the reported quarter.

2025 and 2026 View

GL estimates net operating income between $14.40 and $14.60 for the year ending Dec. 31, 2025. For the year ending Dec. 31, 2026, GL projects net operating income per share in the range of $14.60 to $15.30.

Zacks Rank

Globe Life currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Performance of Other Insurers

Chubb Limited (CB - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2025 core operating income of $7.49 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 26%. The bottom line increased 30.9% year over year. Net premiums written improved 7.5% year over year to $14.8 billion in the quarter. Our estimate was $14.4 billion while the Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $14.5 billion. 

Pre-tax net investment income was $1.65 billion, up 9.3% year over year. Our estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate were both pegged at $1.8 billion. Revenues of $16.1 billion beat the consensus estimate by 1.6% and improved 7.4% year over year. Property and casualty (P&C) underwriting income was $2.2 billion, up 55% year over year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $1.4 billion.
 
The Travelers Companies (TRV - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2025 core income of $8.14 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 35.4%. The bottom line increased 55% year over year. Travelers’ total revenues increased 5% from the year-ago quarter to $12.44 billion, primarily driven by higher premiums, net investment income, fee income and other revenues. The top-line figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.7%.

Net written premiums increased 1% year over year to a record $11.47 billion. The underwriting gain doubled year over year to $1.4 billion. The consolidated underlying combined ratio of 83.9 improved 170 bps year over year. The combined ratio improved 590 bps year over year to 87.3 due to lower catastrophe losses and an improvement in the underlying combined ratio, partially offset by lower net favorable prior year reserve development.

W.R. Berkley Corporation's (WRB - Free Report) third-quarter 2025 operating income of $1.10 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.03 by 2.8%. The bottom line increased 18.3% year over year. Operating revenues came in at $3.6 billion, up 8.2% year over year, on the back of higher net premiums earned as well as improved net investment income and higher insurance service fees. The top line beat the consensus estimate by 0.4%.

W.R. Berkley’s net premiums written were $3.4 billion, up 5.5% year over year. Our estimate was $3.3 billion.  The consolidated combined ratio (a measure of underwriting profitability) remained flat year over year at 90.9. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 89.6.

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