Aflac Incorporated AFL returned to Japan’s bond market on Thursday, raising ¥65.9 billion, or roughly $415 million, through a four-part yen bond offering, according to Bloomberg. The insurer has tapped the Japanese debt market several times before, though this year’s deal came in smaller than the ¥74.9 billion it issued in 2025.
Bloomberg also reported that the 10-year tranche carried a coupon of 3.482%, showing that Aflac was still able to secure funding on favorable terms despite rising borrowing costs globally. The deal also points to continued demand from Japanese investors, who remain eager to buy debt from established foreign companies offering higher yields.
Aflac’s latest issuance comes as more overseas borrowers turn to Japan’s credit market for funding. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK.B and Alphabet Inc. GOOG, the parent company of Google, have both expanded their activity in the country recently. Alphabet made headlines last week after selling ¥576.5 billion worth of bonds in its first-ever yen offering, marking the largest yen bond sale by a non-Japanese company. The company is raising capital as spending tied to artificial intelligence and data center expansion continues to climb.
Aflac remains heavily tied to Japan through its insurance operations. The company generates a significant share of earnings from the region through supplemental health and life insurance products. In the first quarter, adjusted net investment income at Aflac Japan rose 0.9% year over year to $591 million. Net earned premiums slipped 6.4% to $1.6 billion, though new annualized premium sales jumped 25.5%, supported by strong demand for products, including Anshin Palette, Miraito and Tsumitasu.
Price Performance
Shares of Aflac have gained 6.3% in the year-to-date period compared with the 6.1% growth of the industry.
Zacks Rank & A Key Pick
Aflac currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock in the broader Finance space is CNO Financial Group, Inc. CNO, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNO Financial’s current-year earnings is pegged at $4.47 per share, which indicates 9.6% year-over-year growth. It has witnessed one upward estimate revision against none in the opposite direction during the past month. CNO beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 16.9%.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).