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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Willis Towers Watson, Arthur J. Gallagher and Aon
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – September 3, 2026 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Willis Towers Watson Public Ltd. Co. (WTW - Free Report) , Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG - Free Report) and Aon plc (AON - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:
3 Insurance Brokerage Stocks Find New Growth Drivers as Rates Fade
The Zacks Brokerage Insurance industry is showing surprisingly resilient organic growth even as commercial insurance pricing continues to soften. The brokerage industry appears to be transitioning from a rate-driven growth cycle to an execution-driven growth cycle.
The key support is that brokers are increasingly relying on exposure growth, new business, retention, specialty products, and market-share gains, rather than simply benefiting from higher insurance rates. This means broker organic growth is becoming less dependent on insurance-rate increases and more dependent on underlying business activity and execution.
In the U.S. insurance brokerage industry, "underlying business activity and execution" refers to the factors that allow brokers to grow even when insurance pricing is no longer providing a strong tailwind. This is the growth in clients' actual businesses and insurance needs, rather than changes in insurance rates, such as exposure growth, new business formation and expansion, and higher insurance needs and economic growth.
As pricing moderates, the strongest brokers are shifting from "rate-driven growth" to "volume- and share-driven growth." This makes organic growth more dependent on winning customers, retaining them, and benefiting from clients' underlying economic expansion. As pricing normalizes, insurers with strong distribution relationships and specialty/middle-market capabilities are increasingly becoming attractive.
Growth is also being supplemented by mergers and acquisitions and strategic investments, which remain important contributors as pricing-driven growth fades. Brokers with strong specialty exposure, diversified revenue streams, acquisition capabilities, and high retention should be better positioned to sustain mid-single-digit organic growth even as pricing becomes less supportive.
Price Performance
The brokerage insurance industry has lost 15.1% in the past year against the Finance sector's growth of 11.9% and the Zacks S&P 500 composite's appreciation of 20.6%.
3 Insurers to Watch
Based on results of the second quarter of 2026, the brokers best positioned to sustain more than 5% organic growth as insurance pricing moderates are Willis Towers Watson Public Ltd. Co., Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and Aon plc. WTW carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while AJG and AON have a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) each at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The second-quarter 2026 results indicate that organic growth across major publicly traded brokers was generally stable compared with the first quarter, with Aon reporting 5% growth, while WTW, Marsh and Arthur J. Gallagher saw modest improvement.
Willis Towers Watson: Based in London, the United Kingdom, Willis Towers Watson is a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company.
WTW looks well positioned. It delivered 5% organic growth in the second quarter, while its Risk & Broking segment grew 7% organically, ahead of the comparable brokerage growth reported by its largest peers. Its advantage is a combination of specialization, recurring revenues, new-business wins and client retention. That makes WTW less dependent on rate increases than brokers whose growth is concentrated in transactional P&C brokerage.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Willis Towers' 2026 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year increase of 16%. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $10.51 billion, implying a year-over-year improvement of 8.2%.
The consensus estimate for 2027 earnings and revenues indicates an increase of 14.4% and 4.9%, respectively, from the 2026 estimates. The consensus estimate for 2026 and 2027 has moved 0.7% and 2.1% north, respectively, in the past 30 days. Earnings have grown 8.3% in the past five years. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 17.6%, better than the industry average of 14.1%. WTW delivered a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 3.88%. Shares of WTW have gained 2.2% in the past year.
Arthur J. Gallagher: Headquartered in Itasca, IL, Arthur J. Gallagher, with a market capitalization of $53.29 billion, is the world's largest property/casualty third-party claims administrator and the fourth largest among insurance brokers (based on revenues). AJG delivered 6% organic growth in the second quarter, up from 5% in the first quarter, and management expects 5.5% organic growth in Brokerage and 9% in Risk Management for 2026. The important point is the quality of the growth. AJG is increasingly relying on new business, strong client retention, exposure growth and market-share gains. Its exposure to construction, infrastructure, energy and data centers also creates demand for specialized risk advice even when underlying insurance rates soften.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Arthur J. Gallagher's 2026 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year increase of 24.2%. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $16.60 billion, implying a year-over-year improvement of 20.4%.
The consensus estimate for 2027 earnings and revenues indicates an increase of 12.1% and 8.7%, respectively, from the 2026 estimates. The consensus estimate for 2026 and 2027 has moved 0.07% and 0.2% north, respectively, in the past 30 days. Earnings have grown 18.1% in the past five years, better than the industry average of 13.9%. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 12.4%. This insurance broker has beaten earnings estimates in two of the last four quarters, while missing in one and matching in the other. Shares of AJG have lost 13.8% in the past year.
Aon: Dublin, Ireland-based Aon offers risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, human resource consulting and outsourcing services worldwide.
Aon generated 5% organic growth for the second consecutive quarter. More importantly, growth was broad-based across its businesses. Its reinsurance business also grew despite significantly lower treaty pricing, suggesting that volume, new clients and value-added services are offsetting rate pressure. Aon is therefore showing that organic growth doesn't necessarily require a favorable pricing cycle.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Aon's 2026 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year increase of 11.6%. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $17.91 billion, implying a year-over-year improvement of 4.2%.
The consensus estimate for 2027 earnings and revenues indicates an increase of 11.3% and 5.3%, respectively, from the 2026 estimates. Earnings of Aon have grown 10.5% in the past five years, while the expected long-term earnings growth rate is 10.2%. This insurance broker has a solid track record of beating earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, with an average of 2.72%. The stock has lost 12.8% over the past year.
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Willis Towers Watson, Arthur J. Gallagher and Aon
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – September 3, 2026 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Willis Towers Watson Public Ltd. Co. (WTW - Free Report) , Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG - Free Report) and Aon plc (AON - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:
3 Insurance Brokerage Stocks Find New Growth Drivers as Rates Fade
The Zacks Brokerage Insurance industry is showing surprisingly resilient organic growth even as commercial insurance pricing continues to soften. The brokerage industry appears to be transitioning from a rate-driven growth cycle to an execution-driven growth cycle.
The key support is that brokers are increasingly relying on exposure growth, new business, retention, specialty products, and market-share gains, rather than simply benefiting from higher insurance rates. This means broker organic growth is becoming less dependent on insurance-rate increases and more dependent on underlying business activity and execution.
In the U.S. insurance brokerage industry, "underlying business activity and execution" refers to the factors that allow brokers to grow even when insurance pricing is no longer providing a strong tailwind. This is the growth in clients' actual businesses and insurance needs, rather than changes in insurance rates, such as exposure growth, new business formation and expansion, and higher insurance needs and economic growth.
As pricing moderates, the strongest brokers are shifting from "rate-driven growth" to "volume- and share-driven growth." This makes organic growth more dependent on winning customers, retaining them, and benefiting from clients' underlying economic expansion. As pricing normalizes, insurers with strong distribution relationships and specialty/middle-market capabilities are increasingly becoming attractive.
Growth is also being supplemented by mergers and acquisitions and strategic investments, which remain important contributors as pricing-driven growth fades. Brokers with strong specialty exposure, diversified revenue streams, acquisition capabilities, and high retention should be better positioned to sustain mid-single-digit organic growth even as pricing becomes less supportive.
Price Performance
The brokerage insurance industry has lost 15.1% in the past year against the Finance sector's growth of 11.9% and the Zacks S&P 500 composite's appreciation of 20.6%.
3 Insurers to Watch
Based on results of the second quarter of 2026, the brokers best positioned to sustain more than 5% organic growth as insurance pricing moderates are Willis Towers Watson Public Ltd. Co., Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and Aon plc. WTW carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while AJG and AON have a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) each at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The second-quarter 2026 results indicate that organic growth across major publicly traded brokers was generally stable compared with the first quarter, with Aon reporting 5% growth, while WTW, Marsh and Arthur J. Gallagher saw modest improvement.
Willis Towers Watson: Based in London, the United Kingdom, Willis Towers Watson is a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company.
WTW looks well positioned. It delivered 5% organic growth in the second quarter, while its Risk & Broking segment grew 7% organically, ahead of the comparable brokerage growth reported by its largest peers. Its advantage is a combination of specialization, recurring revenues, new-business wins and client retention. That makes WTW less dependent on rate increases than brokers whose growth is concentrated in transactional P&C brokerage.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Willis Towers' 2026 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year increase of 16%. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $10.51 billion, implying a year-over-year improvement of 8.2%.
The consensus estimate for 2027 earnings and revenues indicates an increase of 14.4% and 4.9%, respectively, from the 2026 estimates.
The consensus estimate for 2026 and 2027 has moved 0.7% and 2.1% north, respectively, in the past 30 days. Earnings have grown 8.3% in the past five years. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 17.6%, better than the industry average of 14.1%. WTW delivered a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 3.88%. Shares of WTW have gained 2.2% in the past year.
Arthur J. Gallagher: Headquartered in Itasca, IL, Arthur J. Gallagher, with a market capitalization of $53.29 billion, is the world's largest property/casualty third-party claims administrator and the fourth largest among insurance brokers (based on revenues).
AJG delivered 6% organic growth in the second quarter, up from 5% in the first quarter, and management expects 5.5% organic growth in Brokerage and 9% in Risk Management for 2026. The important point is the quality of the growth. AJG is increasingly relying on new business, strong client retention, exposure growth and market-share gains. Its exposure to construction, infrastructure, energy and data centers also creates demand for specialized risk advice even when underlying insurance rates soften.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Arthur J. Gallagher's 2026 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year increase of 24.2%. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $16.60 billion, implying a year-over-year improvement of 20.4%.
The consensus estimate for 2027 earnings and revenues indicates an increase of 12.1% and 8.7%, respectively, from the 2026 estimates.
The consensus estimate for 2026 and 2027 has moved 0.07% and 0.2% north, respectively, in the past 30 days. Earnings have grown 18.1% in the past five years, better than the industry average of 13.9%. The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 12.4%. This insurance broker has beaten earnings estimates in two of the last four quarters, while missing in one and matching in the other. Shares of AJG have lost 13.8% in the past year.
Aon: Dublin, Ireland-based Aon offers risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, human resource consulting and outsourcing services worldwide.
Aon generated 5% organic growth for the second consecutive quarter. More importantly, growth was broad-based across its businesses. Its reinsurance business also grew despite significantly lower treaty pricing, suggesting that volume, new clients and value-added services are offsetting rate pressure. Aon is therefore showing that organic growth doesn't necessarily require a favorable pricing cycle.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Aon's 2026 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year increase of 11.6%. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $17.91 billion, implying a year-over-year improvement of 4.2%.
The consensus estimate for 2027 earnings and revenues indicates an increase of 11.3% and 5.3%, respectively, from the 2026 estimates.
Earnings of Aon have grown 10.5% in the past five years, while the expected long-term earnings growth rate is 10.2%. This insurance broker has a solid track record of beating earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, with an average of 2.72%. The stock has lost 12.8% over the past year.
Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
See Stocks Free >>
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.