MetLife reported an excellent Q2 with double-digit earnings growth, driven by group benefits, Asia, and strong underwriting. Management remains confident on full-year targets but flags mortality normalization and weak PRT activity. Adjusted EPS $2.43 (up 20%) and adjusted ROE 17% at top of target.
MetLife reported an excellent Q2 with double-digit earnings growth, driven by group benefits, Asia, and strong underwriting. Management remains confident on full-year targets but flags mortality normalization and weak PRT activity. Adjusted EPS $2.43 (up 20%) and adjusted ROE 17% at top of target.
MetLife reported an excellent Q2 with double-digit earnings growth, driven by group benefits, Asia, and strong underwriting. Management remains confident on full-year targets but flags mortality normalization and weak PRT activity.
Adjusted EPS $2.43 (up 20%) and adjusted ROE 17% at top of target.
Group life mortality 79% vs 83-88% target; 2pts considered transient.
Asia sales +17% cc and AUM +6%, but PFO growth decelerating and product mix skews AUM.
Management cited sustained and broad-based growth across segments: sales up 15% in EMEA, 17% in Asia, 9% in Latin America, and 15% in Amiya on a constant currency basis. RAS adjusted PFOs excluding pension risk transfers were up 19%, driven by strong growth in UK longevity reinsurance and structured settlements. Group benefits growth remains healthy with sales up 9% year-to-date and continued doub
Management repeatedly described the quarter as 'excellent' and emphasized confidence in the company's long-term outlook, capital generation, and ability to execute through a range of environments.
“We've been seeing favorability in mortality for a number of quarters right now. Now, this quarter in particular, we saw about two points of favorability that came from a combination of prior period development, as well as below expectation…”
“Looking ahead, we expect stronger private equity returns in the third quarter, particularly from our venture capital investments, supported by elevated IPO activity and higher public market valuations.”
“We sold close to $14 billion of PRTs that year with $12 billion coming in the fourth quarter... You've got $3 trillion of defined benefit pension assets with solid funding levels and a very compelling industrial logic for those corporates…”
| Metric | Period | Range | Midpoint | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPS | FY2026 Q2 | $2.43 | $2.43 | GUIDED |
6 of 6 · +4.5% average bias
Group life mortality runs well below target due to favorable working-age population mortality, but management flagged 2 points as transient prior-period development and expects normalization—early July shows reversion. — If mortality normalizes, insurers pricing off pandemic-era improvement face margin compression, while managed care beneficiaries (elderly) may see divergent trends.
“We've been seeing favorability in mortality for a number of quarters right now. Now, this quarter in particular, we saw about two points of favorability that came from a combination of prior period development, as well as below”
Thank you. Then I had a question on group life. Mortality has been favorable for both MetLife and the industry for the last couple of years now. Do you think if this continues, there'll be any need to pass through some of this favorability to customers through pricing actions? Or do you see it as if the mortality remains favorable, you can continue to maintain price?
Good morning, Ryan. It's Ramy here. Maybe let me just spend a minute to talk about the quarter, and then I'll get to your question on pricing. We've been seeing favorability in mortality for a number of quarters right now. Now, this quarter in particular, we saw about two points of favorability that came from a combination of prior period development, as well as below expectations in terms of severity of claims. So think about those two points as being, we expect those to normalize as we go forward. And there's early evidence of that if you look at our July numbers. So I just want to make sure you look at this quarter in perspective and expect moderation for the rest of the year. Now, to your question, if I think about the overall results and I think about the go-forward trend here, should we see this favorability continue in mortality? You would think that... Thank you.
Private equity returns were weak (0.8% average) despite strong public markets, reflecting a one-quarter lag; management expects a rebound in Q3 driven by Venture Capital and elevated IPO activity—suggesting IPO market is heating up. — IPO windows may open for late-stage startups; investment banks (GS/MS) could see underwriting pickup.
… 5, pre-tax variable investment income was $231 million in the second quarter of 2026. Results were below the implied quarterly run rate, primarily reflecting lower private equity returns, with an average return of 0.8% and real estate and other funds average returns of 1.1%. As a reminder, private equity and real estate and other funds are reported on a one-quarter lag and accounted for on a mark-to-market basis. Looking ahead, we expect stronger private equity returns in the third quarter, particularly from our venture capital investments, supported by elevated IPO activity and higher public market valuations. On page six, we show post-tax VII by segment and corporate another for the past five quarters. The majority of our VII assets are concentrated in Asia and RAS and corporate another, consistent with the long duration nature of these obligations. While VII can vary from quarter to quarter, we manage the business for normalized returns over time and remain comfortable with our full-year outlook. Now turning to expenses on page 7. Our direct expense ratio is 12.1% in Q2 of 26. This compares with 11.7% for both the full year 2025 and the second quarter of last year. Strong PFO …
The PRT market is seeing lumpiness: MET wrote $14B in 2025 but only $1B+ of UK funded reinsurance in H1 2026, indicating an industry-wide drop in US PRT despite a $3T addressable market.