Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. MRSH reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share of $2.96, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.8%. The bottom line advanced 8.8% year over year.
Consolidated revenues of $7.4 billion improved 6.2% year over year. The figure rose 5% on an underlying basis. The top line beat the consensus mark by 2%.
The strong quarterly results benefited from solid growth in the Risk and Insurance Services and Consulting units. However, the upside was partially offset by elevated operating expenses, primarily due to increased compensation and benefits.
Marsh Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Marsh price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Marsh Quote
MRSH’s Q2 Performance
Total operating expenses escalated 7% year over year to $5.5 billion but came in lower than our model estimate of $5.6 billion. The year-over-year rise was due to increased compensation and benefits costs and other operating expenses. Expenses in the Risk and Insurance Services segment rose 5.1% year over year, while the Consulting segment's expenses increased 9.7%.
Marsh’s adjusted operating income improved 5% year over year to $2.2 billion. The adjusted operating margin of 29.3% deteriorated 20 basis points year over year.
Q2 Segmental Update
Risk and Insurance Services
The segment recorded revenues of $4.8 billion in the second quarter, which rose 4% year over year and 3% on an underlying basis. The reported figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.5%. Adjusted operating income advanced 3% year over year to $1.7 billion, which beat the consensus mark by 1.1%.
Revenues of Marsh Risk, a unit within the segment, rose 6% year over year and 4% on an underlying basis to $4.1 billion. In the United States/Canada operations, revenues grew 4% on an underlying basis. International operations witnessed revenue growth of 5% year over year on an underlying basis. Among the international operations, Latin America witnessed year-over-year growth of 8% on an underlying basis. Asia Pacific’s and EMEA’s revenues improved 5% each, on an underlying basis.
Another unit within the segment, Guy Carpenter's revenues of $664 million fell 2% year over year and 2% on an underlying basis. The figure missed the consensus mark by 4.4%.
Consulting
The unit’s revenues advanced 10% year over year and 8% on an underlying basis to $2.6 billion. The reported figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.9%. Adjusted operating income of $533 million climbed 11% year over year and beat the consensus mark of $521 million.
Revenues of Mercer, a unit within this segment, grew 7% year over year and 5% on an underlying basis to $1.6 billion. The reported figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.4%. Wealth and Health revenues rose 8% and 3%, respectively, on an underlying basis. Career revenues grew 2% year over year on an underlying basis.
Another unit within the segment, Marsh Management Consulting, recorded revenues of $1 billion, which improved 15% year over year, as well as 13% on an underlying basis.
Financial Update (As of June 30, 2026)
Marsh exited the second quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1.7 billion, which declined from the 2025-end figure of $2.7 billion. Total assets of $59.7 billion increased from the $58.7 billion figure at the end of 2025.
Long-term debt amounted to $18.9 billion, which rose from the $18.3 billion figure as of Dec. 31, 2025. Short-term debt amounted to $1.7 billion.
Total equity of $15.4 billion rose from the 2025-end level of $15.3 billion.
Net cash provided by operations totaled $835 million in the first six months of 2026 compared with $1 billion in the prior-year comparable period.
Capital Deployment Update
Marsh bought back 4.5 million shares worth $750 million in the second quarter of 2026.
MRSH’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks
MRSH currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Business Services space are GDS Holdings Limited GDS, V2X, Inc. VVX and The GEO Group, Inc. GEO, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GDS Holdings’ current-quarter earnings is pinned at $1.35 per share and has remained stable over the past 60 days. GDS beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 610%. The consensus estimate for current-quarter revenues is pegged at $463.2 million, implying 14.4% year-over-year growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for V2X’s current-quarter earnings of $1.45 per share has remained stable over the past 60 days. VVX beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 22.8%. The consensus estimate for current-quarter revenues is pegged at $1.2 billion, calling for 12% year-over-year growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GEO Group’s current-quarter earnings is pinned at 28 cents per share and has remained stable over the past 60 days. GEO beat earnings estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and met once, with the average surprise being 25.9%. The consensus estimate for current-quarter revenues is pegged at $720.7 million, implying 13.3% year-over-year growth.
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