Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. MRSH reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share of $3.29, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.5%. The bottom line advanced 8% year over year.
Consolidated revenues of $7.6 billion improved 8% year over year. The figure rose 4% on an underlying basis. The top line beat the consensus mark by 2.9%.
The strong quarterly results benefited from solid growth in the Risk and Insurance Services and Consulting unit, particularly from the Marsh Risk, Guy Carpenter, Mercer and Marsh Management Consulting businesses. 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 Q1 Performance
Total operating expenses escalated 15.6% year over year to $5.8 billion, higher than our model estimate of $5.3 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 18.8% year over year, while the Consulting segment's expenses increased 9.4%.
Marsh’s adjusted operating income improved 8% year over year to $2.4 billion. Adjusted operating margin of 31.8% remained stable year over year.
Q1 Segmental Update
Risk and Insurance Services
The segment recorded revenues of $5.1 billion in the first quarter, which rose 6% year over year and 3% on an underlying basis. The reported figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2%. Adjusted operating income advanced 7% year over year to $1.9 billion, which beat the consensus mark by 3.4%.
Revenues of Marsh Risk, a unit within the segment, rose 8% year over year and 4% on an underlying basis to $3.7 billion. In the United States/Canada operations, revenues grew 3% 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 2% on an underlying basis. Asia Pacific and EMEA’s revenues improved 5% and 6%, respectively, on an underlying basis.
Another unit within the segment, Guy Carpenter's revenues of $1.2 billion rose 3% year over year and 2% on an underlying basis. The figure came in line with the consensus mark.
Consulting
The unit’s revenues advanced 11% year over year and 5% on an underlying basis to $2.6 billion. The reported figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.8%. Adjusted operating income of $552 million climbed 13% year over year and beat the consensus mark of $550.7 million.
Revenues of Mercer, a unit within this segment, grew 11% year over year and 5% on an underlying basis to $1.7 billion. The reported figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.2%. Health and Wealth revenues rose 6% and 5%, respectively, on an underlying basis. Career revenues fell 2% year over year on an underlying basis.
Another unit within the segment, Marsh Management Consulting, recorded revenues of $897 million, which improved 10% year over year, as well as 6% on an underlying basis.
Financial Update (as of March 31, 2026)
Marsh exited the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1.6 billion, which declined from the 2025-end figure of $2.7 billion. Total assets of $58.6 billion decreased 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 $14.8 billion declined from the 2025-end level of $15.3 billion.
Marsh used net cash of $688 million in operations during the first quarter of 2025, up from $622 million a year ago.
Capital Deployment Update
Marsh bought back 4.2 million shares worth $750 million in the first quarter of 2026.
MRSH’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks
MRSH currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Business Services space are Dave Inc. DAVE, Remitly Global, Inc. RELY and GigaCloud Technology Inc. GCT, 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 Dave’s current-year earnings is pinned at $14.56 per share and has witnessed three upward revisions over the past 60 days against one movement in the opposite direction. Dave beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 54.2%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $693.5 million, implying 25.1% year-over-year growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Remitly Global’s current-year earnings of 51 cents per share has remained stable over the past seven days. Remitly Global beat earnings estimates in three of the trailing four quarters. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $2 billion, calling for 19.4% year-over-year growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GigaCloud Technology’s current-year earnings is pinned at $4.10 per share and has witnessed one upward revision in the past 60 days against no movement in the opposite direction. GigaCloud Technology beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 64.5%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $1.5 billion, implying 17.3% year-over-year growth.
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