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Here's Why You Should Retain Verisk Stock in Your Portfolio Now
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Key Takeaways
Verisk's Underwriting and Claims revenues rose 3.8% and 4.3% y/y in the first quarter of 2026.
VRSK expands AI and analytics offerings through the SuranceBay acquisition and fraud tools.
Verisk returned capital through dividends and buybacks despite higher debt and expenses.
Verisk Analytics, Inc. (VRSK - Free Report) is benefiting from its recurring subscription revenues, supported by strong premium growth. Acquisitions are driving customer growth, while shareholder-friendly policies attract investors. However, the company continues to grapple with elevated expenses.
VRSK has a Growth Score of B. This style score condenses key financial metrics to reflect a fair sense of the quality and sustainability of its growth.
The company’s second-quarter 2026 earnings are expected to increase 3.7% year over year. Its 2026 and 2027 earnings are projected to rise 6.6% and 13.5%, respectively. Revenues are expected to grow 4.9% in 2026 and 6.8% in 2027.
Factors That Bode Well for VRSK
Verisk’s growth is primarily driven by its Underwriting and Rating division, with the Claims division being the secondary one. Higher annualized recurring revenues and direct written premium growth also positively impact the bottom line. Rising demand for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) products supports growth in VRSK’s subscribed offerings. During the first quarter of 2026, Underwriting revenues increased 3.8% year over year to $552 million, while Claims revenues rose 4.3% to $231 million.
VRSK’s growth strategy is also driven by its strong focus on innovation and acquisitions, as the company rapidly invests in global companies to enhance its data and analytical capabilities. Recently, the company acquired SuranceBay, a leading provider of producer licensing, onboarding, appointment and compliance solutions, which is expected to expand VRSK’s life and annuity offerings.
The company is witnessing growing customer demand for AI-enabled underwriting, fraud detection and catastrophe modeling solutions. One of its key AI innovations, its digital media forensics platform, an AI-powered anti-fraud solution that automates anomaly detection in photos and documents, is expected to attract customers. Continued success of its aerial imagery analytics offerings, which help insurers improve property risk selection and underwriting efficiency, is also expected to expand in the future.
VRSK continues to reward shareholders through consistent dividend payments and share repurchases. The company paid out dividends of $195.2 million, $196.8 million, $221.3 million and $251.3 million, while repurchasing shares worth $1.7 billion, $2.8 billion, $1 billion and $624 million in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively.
VRSK: Risks to Watch
Verisk faces intensifying pressure from soaring operating expenses, which weigh heavily on profitability and the company’s strategic outlook. Sustained cost growth at this pace could erode margins and limit VRSK’s ability to invest in strategic initiatives, making expense management a key area to watch going forward.
The company had long-term debt of $4.2 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2026, up 30.6% year over year, reflecting a significant accumulation of debt due to past buyouts and business expansion efforts. This higher debt burden also increases operational costs and affects VRSK’s capacity to pursue other opportunities.
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Here's Why You Should Retain Verisk Stock in Your Portfolio Now
Key Takeaways
Verisk Analytics, Inc. (VRSK - Free Report) is benefiting from its recurring subscription revenues, supported by strong premium growth. Acquisitions are driving customer growth, while shareholder-friendly policies attract investors. However, the company continues to grapple with elevated expenses.
VRSK has a Growth Score of B. This style score condenses key financial metrics to reflect a fair sense of the quality and sustainability of its growth.
The company’s second-quarter 2026 earnings are expected to increase 3.7% year over year. Its 2026 and 2027 earnings are projected to rise 6.6% and 13.5%, respectively. Revenues are expected to grow 4.9% in 2026 and 6.8% in 2027.
Factors That Bode Well for VRSK
Verisk’s growth is primarily driven by its Underwriting and Rating division, with the Claims division being the secondary one. Higher annualized recurring revenues and direct written premium growth also positively impact the bottom line. Rising demand for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) products supports growth in VRSK’s subscribed offerings. During the first quarter of 2026, Underwriting revenues increased 3.8% year over year to $552 million, while Claims revenues rose 4.3% to $231 million.
Verisk Analytics, Inc. Revenue (TTM)
Verisk Analytics, Inc. revenue-ttm | Verisk Analytics, Inc. Quote
VRSK’s growth strategy is also driven by its strong focus on innovation and acquisitions, as the company rapidly invests in global companies to enhance its data and analytical capabilities. Recently, the company acquired SuranceBay, a leading provider of producer licensing, onboarding, appointment and compliance solutions, which is expected to expand VRSK’s life and annuity offerings.
The company is witnessing growing customer demand for AI-enabled underwriting, fraud detection and catastrophe modeling solutions. One of its key AI innovations, its digital media forensics platform, an AI-powered anti-fraud solution that automates anomaly detection in photos and documents, is expected to attract customers. Continued success of its aerial imagery analytics offerings, which help insurers improve property risk selection and underwriting efficiency, is also expected to expand in the future.
VRSK continues to reward shareholders through consistent dividend payments and share repurchases. The company paid out dividends of $195.2 million, $196.8 million, $221.3 million and $251.3 million, while repurchasing shares worth $1.7 billion, $2.8 billion, $1 billion and $624 million in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively.
VRSK: Risks to Watch
Verisk faces intensifying pressure from soaring operating expenses, which weigh heavily on profitability and the company’s strategic outlook. Sustained cost growth at this pace could erode margins and limit VRSK’s ability to invest in strategic initiatives, making expense management a key area to watch going forward.
The company had long-term debt of $4.2 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2026, up 30.6% year over year, reflecting a significant accumulation of debt due to past buyouts and business expansion efforts. This higher debt burden also increases operational costs and affects VRSK’s capacity to pursue other opportunities.
VRSK’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to consider
Verisk currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
A couple of better-ranked stocks in the Business Services are FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS - Free Report) and TransUnion (TRU - Free Report) .
FactSet carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. It has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 6.5%.
FDS beat earnings estimates in two of the last four reported quarters and missed twice, delivering an earnings surprise of 0.4%, on average.
TransUnion also has a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. It has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 13.6%.
TRU beat earnings estimates in the last four quarters, the earnings surprise being 6.3%, on average.