MetLife, Inc. MET reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted operating earnings per share (EPS) of $2.42, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.6%. The bottom line advanced 23% year over year.
Adjusted operating revenues improved 4.5% year over year to $19.7 billion. The top line surpassed the consensus mark by 2.4%.
MetLife’s first-quarter results benefited from improved net investment income, favorable underwriting results and solid business volume growth across segments. Growth in adjusted PFOs and strong performances in Group Benefits, Asia and EMEA also supported results. However, higher expenses, unfavorable tax-related items in Latin America and a wider-than-expected loss in the Corporate & Other unit partially offset the upside.
MetLife, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
MetLife, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | MetLife, Inc. Quote
Behind the Headlines
Adjusted PFOs, excluding pension risk transfer (PRT), were $13.3 billion. The metric inched up 10% year over year.
Adjusted net investment income grew 5% year over year to $5.5 billion on the back of growth in assets and improved variable investment income.
Total expenses of $17.6 billion escalated 2% year over year due to increased policyholder benefits and claims, and other expenses, net of capitalization of DAC. Adjusted expense ratio, excluding total notable items related to adjusted other expenses and PRT, deteriorated 30 basis points year over year to 20.3%.
Net income of $1.1 billion rose 29.7% year over year in the first quarter. Adjusted return on equity, excluding total notable items, improved 260 bps year over year to 17%.
Inside MetLife’s Segments
Group Benefits: The segment reported adjusted earnings of $439 million in the first quarter, reflecting a 19% year-over-year increase and exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 22.5%. The strong performance was driven by improved underwriting results and continued business volume growth. Adjusted PFOs rose 2% year over year to $6.5 billion.
RIS: Adjusted earnings totaled $451 million, which inched up 11% year over year and beat the consensus mark by 6.4%. Improved variable investment income and favorable underwriting results benefited the metric. Adjusted PFOs, excluding PRT, advanced 58% year over year to $1.5 billion.
Asia: The unit recorded adjusted earnings of $487 million, which rose 31% year over year and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9.7%. The metric was supported by improved variable investment income and volume growth. Adjusted PFOs rose 3% year over year to $1.7 billion in the quarter.
Latin America: Adjusted earnings of $229 million increased 5% year over year on a reported basis but declined 9% year over year on a constant-currency basis. The metric exceeded the consensus estimate by 5.9%, driven by volume growth and favorable underwriting results, partially offset by unfavorable tax-related items. Adjusted PFOs were $1.9 billion, up 25% year over year on a reported basis and 11% on a constant-currency basis, driven by solid business growth and strong persistency across the region.
EMEA: The segment recorded adjusted earnings of $110 million in the first quarter, which advanced 33% year over year and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 23%. Strong volumes aided the metric. Adjusted PFOs rose 19% year over year to $797 million on the back of solid policy renewal across the region.
Metlife Investment Management: The segment recorded adjusted earnings of $47 million, which advanced 68% year over year on the back of strong business growth and expense management. However, the metric missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9.2%.
Corporate & Other: The unit incurred an adjusted loss of $177 million, wider than the prior-year quarter’s loss of $129 million.
Financial Update (as of March 31, 2026)
MetLife exited the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $22.7 billion, up from $22 billion at the end of 2025. Total assets were $743.2 billion as of March 31, 2026, compared with $745.2 billion as of 2025-end.
Long-term debt totaled $14.4 billion, slightly lower than $14.5 billion at the end of 2025, while short-term debt amounted to $404 million.
Total equity was $27.6 billion compared with $28.7 billion as of 2025-end. Book value per share increased 7.8% year over year to $37.92 as of March 31, 2026.
Capital Deployment Update
MetLife bought back shares worth $750 million in the first quarter. It pursued additional repurchases of roughly $200 million in April 2026. Management paid common stock dividends of $350 million in the quarter under review.
MET’s 2026 Outlook
Management still expects a pre-tax variable investment income of around $1.6 billion for 2026. The expense ratio was earlier projected to be 12.1%.
Corporate & Other adjusted losses were earlier projected to be between $500 million and $700 million. The effective tax rate was projected to be 24-26%.
Near-Term Targets
MetLife expects adjusted PFOs in the Group Benefits business to rise in the range of 4-7% annually. Adjusted PFOs in the Latin America unit are expected to witness high-single-digit growth on a constant-currency basis, while those in the EMEA unit are guided to grow at a high-single-digit rate on a reported basis.
MetLife aims to achieve an adjusted return on equity in the range of 15-17%. The company also expects to deliver double-digit adjusted EPS growth in the near term.
MET’s Zacks Rank
MET 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
Companies belonging to the broader Finance space, such as American International Group, Inc. AIG, AXIS Capital Holdings Limited AXS and Selective Insurance Group SIGI, have also posted their quarterly results. Here’s how they have performed:
American International reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share of $2.11, which topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.90. The bottom line surged 80.3% year over year. American International’s adjusted operating revenues advanced 5.4% year over year to $6.97 billion. The top line beat the consensus mark by 1.2%. The strong quarterly performance was fueled by better underwriting, alongside lower catastrophe losses and a decline in total losses and expenses. However, the upside was partly offset by lower investment income.
AXIS Capital reported first-quarter 2026 operating income of $3.42 per share, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.23 and rose 7.9% year over year. Total operating revenues of $1.7 billion marginally beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.4%. The top line rose nearly 7.7% year over year on higher premiums earned. AXIS Capital’s quarterly results benefited from higher net premiums earned and stronger underwriting income, partly offset by lower net investment income and higher expenses.
Selective Insurance reported first-quarter 2026 operating income of $1.69 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.3%. The bottom line decreased 11% year over year. SIGI’s operating revenues of $1.4 billion increased 6.4% from the year-ago quarter’s level, driven primarily by higher net premiums earned and net investment income. The top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.5%. Net premiums written decreased 1% to $1.3 billion, which matched our estimate.
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American International Group, Inc. (AIG): Free Stock Analysis Report
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