It has been about a month since the last earnings report for CNO Financial (CNO). Shares have lost about 3% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
But investors have to be wondering, will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is CNO due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.
CNO Q3 Earnings Top on Strong Life Collected Premiums
CNO Financial reported third-quarter 2025 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%.
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'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%.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
It turns out, fresh estimates have trended upward during the past month.
VGM Scores
Currently, CNO has a subpar Growth Score of D, however its Momentum Score is doing a lot better with a B. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of A on the value side, putting it in the top quintile for value investors.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Outlook
Estimates have been trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of this revision looks promising. Notably, CNO has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
Performance of an Industry Player
CNO is part of the Zacks Insurance - Multi line industry. Over the past month, Prudential (PRU), a stock from the same industry, has gained 2.7%. The company reported its results for the quarter ended September 2025 more than a month ago.
Prudential reported revenues of $16.24 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -16.6%. EPS of $4.26 for the same period compares with $3.48 a year ago.
For the current quarter, Prudential is expected to post earnings of $3.38 per share, indicating a change of +14.2% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -0.3% over the last 30 days.
The overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions translate into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Prudential. Also, the stock has a VGM Score of B.
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CNO Financial Group, Inc. (CNO): Free Stock Analysis Report Prudential Financial, Inc. (PRU): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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