Steady Reward: Is Marsh & McLennan a Keeper or Just Comfortable?

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. MMC appears positioned for meaningful growth, supported by momentum in its Consulting segment, especially Mercer and Oliver Wyman. Improving earnings expectations signal the business continues to advance with healthy forward traction.

Based in New York, Marsh & McLennan stands as a leading insurance and risk services provider with a market valuation of $87.7 billion. Given firm fundamentals, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock remains reasonable for investors to retain right now. This discussion reviews the catalysts, projected numbers and the elements worth investor attention.

Now let’s move forward.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate indicates 2025 and 2026 earnings of $9.61 and $10.28 per share, respectively, implying growth of 9.2% and 6.9% from prior periods. Marsh & McLennan beat on earnings in each of the last four quarters, the average being 3.5%.

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

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

Revenue estimates suggest increases of 10.1% in 2025 and 4.7% in 2026. Strength in renewals, new business gains and broad-based geographic improvement are expected to help push sales higher. Rate increases across the commercial property and casualty environment should remain a key revenue lever. New digital capabilities, product expansion and entry into emerging service categories are set to further enhance opportunity.

Strategic acquisitions remain integral to MMC’s long-term playbook. The company has continued adding firms across business lines, which has extended geographic presence, supported specialization and opened new industry niches.

Marsh & McLennan has also delivered steady operating cash flow through the years. Share repurchase activity and a reliable dividend program have cultivated confidence among shareholders. In July 2025, the board authorized a 10% dividend boost, marking the 16th straight year of increases, and the buyback program was recently renewed to $6 billion.

Risks to Watch

Investors should monitor several challenges going forward. Total expenses climbed 9.5% in 2021, 6% in 2022, 6% in 2023, 6.8% in 2024 and 12.1% in the first nine months of 2025. Ongoing cost inflation may pressure margin momentum.

The balance sheet also shows a notable leverage position, with $18.3 billion of debt reported as of Sept. 30, 2025, compared with $2.5 billion in cash. The long-term debt-to-capital ratio of 54.4% exceeds the industry average of 49%.

Nevertheless, the broader operating environment remains constructive, with improving demand for advisory services and elevated awareness of risk management across corporate clients. Investor sentiment toward the professional services space has also strengthened, thanks to resilient cash generation and recurring revenue characteristics.

Key Picks

Investors interested in the broader Finance space can look at some better-ranked stocks like Primerica PRI, Assurant AIZ and SiriusPoint SPNT, each 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 Primerica’s 2025 full-year earnings indicates 11.7% year-over-year growth. It beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 6.7%. Also, the consensus mark for Primerica’s 2025 revenues implies 7.2% year-over-year growth.

The consensus mark for Assurant’s 2025 earnings witnessed two upward estimate revisions in the past week, against no downward movement.  It beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 22.7%. Furthermore, the consensus estimate for Assurant’s 2025 revenues implies 7% year-over-year growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SiriusPoint’s 2025 full-year earnings witnessed one upward estimate revision in the past 30 days, against no movement in the opposite direction. It indicates 130.8% year-over-year growth. Also, the consensus mark for SiriusPoint’s 2025 revenues implies 15.5% year-over-year growth.

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

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