A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Principal Financial (PFG Quick QuotePFG - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 2.2% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Principal Financial due for a breakout? Well, first let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent drivers for Principal Financial Group, Inc. before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.

PFG Q2 Earnings Beat on Solid Underwriting, Revenues Rise Y/Y

Principal Financial Group, Inc.’s second-quarter 2026 operating earnings of $2.50 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.3%. The bottom line increased 16% year over year. Revenues rose 6.4% year over year to $3.99 billion, which missed the consensus mark of $4.09 billion by 2.4%. Strong underwriting, higher net revenues and margin expansion supported earnings.

PFG's Costs Rise With Benefit Outlays

Total expenses increased 7.6% year over year to $3.41 billion. Benefits, claims and settlement expenses rose 8.3% to $1.99 billion, while operating expenses increased 8.1% to $1.40 billion. Non-GAAP operating earnings climbed 12% to $547 million. Excluding significant variances, operating earnings advanced 13% to $528.7 million, reflecting growth across the operating segments. Net income attributable to PFG declined 1% to $403.4 million.

Principal's Retirement Business Gains Ground

Retirement and Income Solutions’ net revenues increased 9% year over year to $779 million. Favorable market performance and business growth supported the increase. Pre-tax operating earnings rose 11% to $323.3 million, while the operating margin expanded 60 basis points to 41.5%. Transfer deposits increased 30% to $9 billion, and recurring deposits advanced 6% to $13 billion. Participant roll-ins totaled $1.7 billion in the quarter.

PFG's Asset Management Results Stay Mixed

Investment Management’s operating revenues less pass-through expenses increased 1% to $431.6 million. Pre-tax operating earnings edged up 1% to $159.4 million, while the operating margin remained stable at 37.5%. International Pension delivered stronger growth. Net revenues increased 16% to $184.8 million, and pre-tax operating earnings rose 24% to $97 million. Assets under management reached a record $168.5 billion, up 18%, aided by more favorable encaje returns and foreign-currency tailwinds.

PFG's Benefits Unit Drives Profit Growth

Specialty Benefits’ premiums and fees increased 4% to $873.3 million. Pre-tax operating earnings rose 25% to $158.9 million, driven by premium growth and more favorable underwriting. Specialty Benefits’ loss ratio improved 280 bps to 57.4%. This was driven by improvements across all products. The unit’s operating margin improved 300 basis points to 18.2%, while the incurred loss ratio declined 280 basis points. Life Insurance revenues fell 6% to $224.1 million, but pre-tax operating earnings increased 26% to $25.2 million on improved mortality experience. Its operating margin expanded 280 basis points to 11.2%.

PFG's AUM Rises Despite Net Outflows

Principal Financial’s assets under management increased 7% year over year to $808 billion. The total was included within assets under administration of $1.89 trillion. AUM net cash outflows were $11.1 billion compared with $2.6 billion a year earlier. Investment Management recorded $12 billion of net outflows, concentrated in a small number of U.S. active equity strategies. Market performance added $47.5 billion to AUM during the quarter.

Principal Financial's Capital Returns Remain Strong

The company returned $426.7 million to shareholders during the quarter. This included $250.2 million of share repurchases and $176.5 million of dividends.
Principal Financial ended the quarter with $1.6 billion of excess and available capital, an estimated 400% risk-based capital ratio and a 23.6% debt-to-capital ratio. Book value per share, excluding certain fair-value and accumulated other comprehensive income effects, was $58.40.

PFG's SMB Strategy Adds Scale

Principal Financial agreed to acquire Beam Benefits, a provider of dental, vision, life, disability and supplemental health products for small and midsized businesses. Beam serves more than 25,000 employer customers and generated $175 million in premiums during 2025. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026. Principal Financial maintained its 2026 earnings-per-share and capital targets and expects Specialty Benefits growth to be at or above the high end of its 5-9% target range in 2027. The board also raised the third-quarter dividend by 2 cents to 84 cents per share.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

Since the earnings release, investors have witnessed a upward trend in estimates revision.

VGM Scores

At this time, Principal Financial has a average Growth Score of C, a grade with the same score on the momentum front. However, the stock was allocated a grade of A on the value side, putting it in the top 20% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Interestingly, Principal Financial has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.