MetLife Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on Lower Costs, Asia Unit Strength

MetLife, Inc. MET reported third-quarter 2025 adjusted operating earnings per share (EPS) of $2.34, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.4%. The bottom line advanced 21% year over year.Adjusted operating revenues totaled $17.9 billion, which inched up 1.6% year over year. However, the top line lagged the consensus mark by 5%.The quarterly results were aided by strong performance in its Asia, Group Benefits and EMEA segments, driven by higher volumes and improved investment income. An increase in adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues (PFOs) and a lower expense level contributed to the upside. However, the upside was partly offset by a VAT charge in Mexico that inflicted pressure on adjusted earnings in the Latin America unit.  MetLife, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise MetLife, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | MetLife, Inc. QuoteBehind the HeadlinesAdjusted PFOs, excluding pension risk transfer (PRT), grew 4% year over year to $12.5 billion.Adjusted net investment income of $5.4 billion rose 6% year over year, attributable to increased returns from private equity assets. Total expenses dipped 1.8% year over year to $16.2 billion on the back of lower policyholder benefits and claims. Adjusted expense ratio, excluding total notable items related to adjusted other expenses and PRT, came in at 19.8%. The metric improved 90 basis points (bps) year over year. Net income dropped 36% year over year to $818 million. Adjusted return on equity, excluding total notable items, improved 230 bps year over year to 16.7%.Inside MetLife’s SegmentsGroup Benefits: The segment recorded adjusted earnings of $455 million in the third quarter, which advanced 22% year over year and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $441 million. Adjusted earnings, excluding notable items, improved 6% year over year to $457 million on the back of higher volumes and favorable expense margins. Adjusted PFOs of $6.3 billion grew 3% year over year.RIS: Adjusted earnings in the unit declined 8% year over year to $436 million but beat the consensus mark of $411 million. Excluding notable items, adjusted earnings climbed 15% year over year to $423 million, resulting from improved variable investment income. Adjusted PFOs, excluding PRT, came in at $1.2 billion. The metric rose 14% year over. Asia: The segment’s adjusted earnings of $543 million surged 77% year over year and outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $426 million. Adjusted earnings, excluding notable items, climbed 36% year over year to $473 million, attributable to higher volumes and improved variable investment income. Adjusted PFOs remained almost flat year over year at $1.7 billion.Latin America: Adjusted earnings of $147 million plunged 33% year over year and fell short of the consensus mark of $245 million. The metric was affected by a value-added tax charge in Mexico. Excluding notable items, adjusted earnings inched up 2% year over year to $222 million. Adjusted PFOs of $1.7 billion grew 11% year over year in the quarter under review on the back of solid regional sales. EMEA: The segment’s adjusted earnings advanced 26% year over year to $88 million, which matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The year-over-year growth stemmed from strong volumes and improved recurring interest margins. Excluding notables, adjusted earnings amounted to $89 million, up 19% year over year. Adjusted PFOs improved 11% year over year to $727 million on the back of solid regional sales.MetLife Holdings: Adjusted earnings came in at $203 million in the unit, which rose 12% year over year and surpassed the consensus mark of $155 million. Excluding notable items, adjusted earnings grew 12% year over year to $190 million, resulting from a rise in variable investment income. Adjusted PFOs were $729 million, down 8% year over year.Corporate & Other: The unit incurred an adjusted loss of $288 million, wider than the prior-year quarter’s loss of $249 million.Financial Update (As of Sept. 30, 2025)MetLife exited the third quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $20.2 billion, which inched up 0.8% from the 2024-end level. Total assets of $719.7 billion increased 6.2% from the figure at 2024-end. Long-term debt amounted to $15.3 billion, up 1.4% from the figure as of Dec. 31, 2024. Short-term debt amounted to $378 million.Total equity of $29.2 billion rose 5.4% from the 2024-end level. Book value per share was $39.52 as of Sept. 30, 2025, which inched up 1% year over year.Capital Deployment UpdateMetLife bought back shares worth $502 million in the third quarter. It pursued additional repurchases of roughly $150 million in October 2025. Management paid common stock dividends of $378 million in the quarter under review.MET’s 2025 OutlookManagement expects a pre-tax variable investment income of around $1.7 billion for 2025. Expense ratio is projected to be 12.1%. Earlier, Corporate & Other adjusted losses were anticipated to be between $850 million and $950 million. The effective tax rate was projected to be 24-26%.Near-Term TargetsEarlier, MetLife projected adjusted PFOs in the Group Benefits business to rise in the range of 4-7% annually. Adjusted PFOs in the MetLife Holdings segment were anticipated to decrease in the range of 4-6% per year, while the same in the Latin America and EMEA units were forecasted to witness high-single-digit growth on a constant currency basis and mid- to high-single-digit growth, respectively.MetLife aimed to achieve an adjusted return on equity in the range of 15-17%. It expected to achieve double-digit adjusted EPS growth in the near term.MET’s Zacks RankMetLife 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 InsurersOf the insurance industry players that have reported third-quarter 2025 results so far, the bottom-line results of W. R. Berkley Corporation WRB, Chubb Limited CB and First American Financial Corporation FAF beat the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate.W.R. Berkley reported third-quarter 2025 operating income of $1.10 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.03 per share by 2.8%. The bottom line increased 18.3% year over year. Net premiums written were $3.4 billion, up 5.5% year over year. Net investment income grew 8.5% to $351.2 million. Operating revenues came in at $3.6 billion, up 8.2% year over year. The top line beat the consensus estimate by 0.4%. The consolidated combined ratio remained flat year over year at 90.9. Net premiums written at the Insurance segment increased 5.1% year over year to $2.8 billion in the quarter. Our estimate was $2.9 billion. The combined ratio deteriorated 80 bps to 92.3. Net premiums written in the Reinsurance & Monoline Excess segment increased 8.6% year over year to $417.1 million. The combined ratio improved 560 bps to 87. Chubb’s third-quarter 2025 core operating income of $7.49 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 26%. The bottom line increased 30.9% year over year. Net premiums written improved 7.5% year over year to $14.8 billion in the quarter. Pre-tax net investment income was $1.65 billion, up 9.3% year over year. Revenues of $16.1 billion beat the consensus estimate by 1.6% and improved 7.4% year over year.Property and casualty (P&C) underwriting income was $2.2 billion, up 55% year over year. The P&C combined ratio improved 590 bps on a year-over-year basis to 81.8% in the quarter under review. The North America Commercial P&C Insurance unit’s net premiums written increased 2.9% year over year to $5.6 billion. Net premiums written in the North America Personal P&C Insurance segment climbed 8.1% year over year to $1.8 billion. First American Financial reported third-quarter 2025 operating income per share of $1.70, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 19.7%. The bottom line increased 26.8% year over year. Operating revenues of $1.9 billion increased 40.7% year over year. The top line also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.8%. Investment income was $163.8 million in the third quarter, up 11.7% year over year. The Title Insurance and Service unit’s total revenues increased 42% year over year to $1.8 billion. Title open orders increased 15.2% to 191,300. Title closed orders increased 16.6% to 141,800. The average revenue per direct title order increased 22% to $16,100. In the Home Warranty segment, total revenues increased 3.3% to $114.6 million, lower than our estimate of $115.8 million. Pretax income of $16 million increased 80% year over year. The claim loss rate declined to 47% in the reported quarter. The pretax margin was 14.1%, expanding 600 bps year over year.Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Chubb Limited (CB): Free Stock Analysis Report MetLife, Inc. (MET): Free Stock Analysis Report W.R. Berkley Corporation (WRB): Free Stock Analysis Report First American Financial Corporation (FAF): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks