CNO Q3 Earnings Top on Strong Life Collected Premiums, Stock Up 4%

Shares of CNO Financial Group, Inc. CNO have risen 3.5% since it reported third-quarter 2025 results on Nov. 3. The quarterly results were supported by strong collected premiums from annuity, life and health products, rising new annualized premiums and higher fee revenues. Nevertheless, the upside was partly offset by a rise in total benefits and expenses as a result of higher other operating costs and expenses.

CNO reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 96 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.1%. The bottom line rose from 92 cents a year ago.

Operating revenues of $1.2 billion advanced 5.3% year over year. The top line surpassed the consensus mark by 26.3%.

CNO Financial Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

CNO Financial Group, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | CNO Financial Group, Inc. Quote

CNO's Q3 Performance

Total insurance policy income rose 2.1% year over year to $658.4 million and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $653 million. The metric was aided by improved collected premiums from annuity, life and health products.

Net investment losses were $8.8 million, slightly narrower than the prior-year quarter’s loss of $11.1 million. General account assets grew 4.5% year over year to $382.9 million. Policyholder and other special-purpose portfolios of $116.8 million advanced 33.3% year over year in the quarter under review. Fee revenues and other income rose 13.9% year over year to $33.6 million.

Annuity collected premiums of $472.5 million improved 1.6% year over year, while health collected premiums increased 2.4% to $412.6 million. Collected premiums from life products totaled $247 million, which rose 2.5% year over year. The total collected premiums advanced 2.1% year over year to $1.1 billion.

New annualized premiums for health products rose 20.2% year over year, while the same for life products climbed 32.1% year over year. Annuity, Health and Life products accounted for 24.3%, 52.2% and 23.5%, respectively, of CNO's insurance margin.

Total benefits and expenses escalated 3% year over year to $1.2 billion due to goodwill and other asset impairment, and other operating costs and expenses.

CNO’s Financial Update (As of Sept. 30, 2025)

CNO Financial exited the third quarter with unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $1.2 billion, which plunged 26.5% from the 2024-end level.

Total assets of $38.3 billion rose 1.2% from the figure at 2024-end.

The debt-to-capital ratio was 33.8% at the third-quarter end, which improved 840 basis points (bps) from the 2024-end figure.

Total shareholders’ equity grew 3.8% from the 2024-end level to $2.6 billion.

Book value per common share was $27.24, which increased 10.1% from the figure at 2024-end. Operating return on equity, excluding significant items, improved 80 bps year over year to 11.2% at the third-quarter end.

CNO Financial’s Share Repurchase & Dividend Update

CNO Financial rewarded its shareholders with $60 million in the form of share buybacks and $16.4 million in dividends during the third quarter.

As of Sept. 30, 2025, the company had a leftover repurchase capacity of $480.4 million.

CNO’s 2025 Guidance

CNO Financial now anticipates operating EPS in the range of $3.75-$3.85 compared to the previously expected range of $3.70-$3.90.

For 2025, management now estimates excess cash flow in the band of $365-$385 million to the holding company, up from the previously expected range of $200-$250 million.

The company currently projects the expense ratio to be around 19%, narrower than the prior view of 19-19.2%. It estimates the effective tax rate to be in the band of 22-22.5%. Management continues to target achieving leverage within the band of 25-28%.

CNO’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

CNO currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Finance space are T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. TROW, Federated Hermes, Inc. FHI and Ponce Financial Group, Inc. PDLB, 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 T. Rowe Price’s current-year earnings of $9.75 per share has witnessed one upward revision in the past seven days against none in the opposite direction. T. Rowe Price beat earnings estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with the average surprise being 4%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $7.2 billion, implying 2.1% year-over-year growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Federated Hermes’ current-year earnings of $4.84 per share has witnessed one upward revision in the past seven days against no movement in the opposite direction. Federated Hermes beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 15.9%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $1.8 billion, calling for 8.1% year-over-year growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ponce Financial Group’s current-year earnings is pegged at $1.05 per share, implying 128.3% year-over-year growth. In the past seven days, Ponce Financial Group has witnessed one upward estimate revision against none in the opposite direction. The consensus mark for the current-year revenues is pegged at $103 million, calling for 23.1% year-over-year growth.

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