Marsh & McLennan Q2 Earnings Beat on Risk and Insurance Strength

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. MMC reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share of $2.72, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.3%. The bottom line advanced 11% year over year.

Consolidated revenues of $6.97 billion improved 12% year over year. The figure rose 4% on an underlying basis. Also, the top line beat the consensus mark by 0.8%.

The strong quarterly results were aided by strong growth in Risk and Insurance Services, particularly from the Marsh and Guy Carpenter businesses. However, the upside was partly offset by elevated operating expenses, primarily due to increased compensation and benefits.

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. Quote

MMC’s Q2 Performance

Total operating expenses escalated 12.4% year over year to $5.1 billion, higher than our model estimate of $4.9 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 16.8% year over year, while the Consulting segment's expenses increased 6%.

Marsh & McLennan’s adjusted operating income improved 14% year over year to $2.06 billion and beat our estimate of $2.05 billion. Adjusted operating margin of 29.5% increased 50 basis points year over year. (See the Zacks Earnings Calendarto stay ahead of market-making news.)

Q2 Segmental Update

Risk and Insurance Services

The segment recorded revenues of $4.63 billion in the second quarter, which rose 15% year over year and 4% on an underlying basis. The reported figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.4%. Adjusted operating income advanced 15.7% year over year to $1.6 billion, which beat the consensus mark by 2.5%.

Revenues of Marsh, a unit within the segment, rose 18% year over year and 5% on an underlying basis to $3.8 billion. In the United States/Canada operations, revenues grew 4% on an underlying basis. International operations also witnessed revenue growth of 7% year over year. Among the international operations, Latin America witnessed a year-over-year increase of 3% on an underlying basis. Asia Pacific and EMEA’s revenues improved 4% and 8%, respectively, on an underlying basis.

Another unit within the segment, Guy Carpenter's revenues of $677 million rose 5% year over year and on an underlying basis. The figure beat the consensus mark by 2.1%.

Consulting

The unit’s revenues advanced 7% year over year and 3% on an underlying basis to $2.37 billion. The reported figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.3%. Adjusted operating income of $479 million climbed 9.4% year over year but missed the consensus mark by 2.6%.

Revenues of Mercer, a unit within this segment, grew 9% year over year and 3% on an underlying basis to $1.5 billion. The reported figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.8%. Health and Wealth revenues rose 7% and 2%, respectively, on an underlying basis. However, Career revenues dipped 5% year over year, on an underlying basis.

Another unit within the segment, Oliver Wyman, recorded revenues of $873 million, which improved 5% year over year as well as 3% on an underlying basis. However, the metric fell short of the consensus mark of $882.1 million.

Financial Update (as of June 30, 2025)

Marsh & McLennan exited the second quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1.7 billion, which tumbled from the 2024-end figure of $2.4 billion. Total assets of $58.6 billion inched up from the $56.5 billion figure at 2024-end.

Long-term debt amounted to $19 billion, which slipped from the $19.4 billion figure as of Dec. 31, 2024. Short-term debt amounted to $769 million.

Total equity of $16 billion advanced from the 2024-end level of $13.5 billion.

Marsh & McLennan generated operating cash flow of more than $1 billion in operations during the first half of 2025, up from $434 million a year ago.

Capital Deployment Update

Marsh & McLennan bought back 1.4 million shares worth $300 million in the second quarter. It currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Stocks That Warrant a Look

While Marsh & McLennan already registered an earnings beat, here are some companies from the broader Finance space that are also likely to beat estimates, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy), or 3 increases the odds of an earnings beat.

You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Aon plc AON has an Earnings ESP of +1.27% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AON’s bottom line for the to-be-reported quarter of $3.40 per share indicates 16% year-over-year growth. It remained stable over the past week. AON’s earnings beat estimates in two of the last four quarters and missed twice, with an average surprise of 1%.

Primerica, Inc. PRI has an Earnings ESP of +0.12% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Primerica’s bottom line for the to-be-reported quarter is pegged at $5.17 per share, signaling 9.8% year-over-year growth. Primerica’s earnings beat estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 7.8%.

Assurant, Inc. AIZ has an Earnings ESP of +1.99% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Assurant’s bottom line for the to-be-reported quarter is pegged at $4.43 per share, indicating 8.6% year-over-year growth. Assurant’s earnings beat estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 16%.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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