Cyber Budgets to Get Hot: Can Marsh & McLennan Take the Advisory Lead?

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.’s MMC arm, Marsh, recently released a global cybersecurity report titled the “Cyber catalyst report: Guiding priorities in cyber investments.” The study revealed that about 75% of organizations worldwide say they are “highly confident” in their cyber-risk management strategies, though regional variation is strong: for instance, entities in India, the Middle East and Africa report 83% confidence, whereas firms in Asia report as low as 50%.

Around 66% of respondents plan to increase cybersecurity investments over the next year, with 26% expecting to boost budgets by 25% or more. The top investment priorities: cybersecurity technologies and mitigation tools, incident-response planning and hiring security talent. Alarmingly, 70% of organizations reported at least one major third-party cybersecurity incident in the past 12 months.

These results signal a shift: cybersecurity is no longer just an IT issue; it is now a core business priority. The prevalence of third-party incidents and the primacy of ransomware as top concerns reveal that traditional perimeter defenses aren’t enough. Organizations now realize they must secure not only internal systems, but also external suppliers, partners and service-providers. That elevates cybersecurity spending from defensive firewall updates to strategic investments.

For MMC, the report positions them strategically as a trusted advisor to a growing global demand for cybersecurity risk management. As more organizations allocate higher budgets to cyber-defense, MMC could see increased demand for its services and generate higher premiums. This may drive revenue growth in its risk advisory and insurance brokerage lines.

Estimates for MMC and Zacks Rank

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Marsh & McLennan’s 2025 and 2026 revenues indicates increases of 10% and 4.7% year over year, respectively. The consensus mark for 2025 EPS is pegged at $9.61, signaling 9.2% year-over-year growth. The same for 2026 predicts a further 6.9% increase. It beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 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

Marsh & McLennan currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Investors interested in the broader Finance space may look at some better-ranked players like Manulife Financial Corporation MFC and Abacus Global Management, Inc. ABL. Both companies currently carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Manulife Financial’s current-year earnings is pegged at $2.86 per share, which witnessed one upward estimate revision in the past 30 days against no movement in the opposite direction. The consensus mark for 2026 EPS indicates 9.4% year-over-year growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Abacus Global’s current-year earnings is pegged at 82 cents per share, which indicates 24.2% year-over-year growth. It has witnessed four upward estimate revisions against none in the opposite direction during the past 60 days. ABL beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 21.1%.

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

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