Progressive's January Earnings Increase Y/Y on Higher Premiums

The Progressive Corporation PGR reported earnings per share of $1.98 for January 2026, which jumped 4% year over year. The improvement stemmed from higher revenues and a rise in investment income, partially offset by an increase in expenses.

January Numbers in Detail

Progressive recorded net premiums written of $6.7 billion, up 4% from $6.5 billion in the year-ago month. Net premiums earned were about $6.9 billion, up 5% from $6.5 billion reported in the year-ago month.

Net realized income on securities was $103 million, which declined 6% from the year-ago month.

Combined ratio — the percentage of premiums paid out as claims and expenses — deteriorated 30 basis points (bps) year over year to 84.4.

PGR’s total revenues were $7.5 billion, up 5.3% year over year, owing to a 5% increase in premiums, a 16% jump in investment income, a 4.2% rise in fees and other revenues, and 14.2% higher service revenues.

Total expenses increased 5.5% to $6 billion, mainly due to higher losses and loss adjustment expenses, policy acquisition costs, other underwriting expenses, and service expenses.

In January 2026, policies in force (PIF) were impressive for both Vehicle and Property businesses. In the Vehicle business, the Personal Auto segment recorded a 10% year-over-year increase to 37.6 million policies. Special Lines policies increased 7% from the year-earlier month to 7 million.

In Progressive’s Personal Auto segment, Agency Auto PIF increased 10% to 10.8 million, while Direct Auto improved 14% to 16.1 million.
PGR’s Commercial Auto segment policies rose 4% year over year to 1.2 million.

The Property business had 3.6 million policies in force in the reported month, up 3% year over year.

The company’s book value per share was $53.24 as of Jan. 31, 2026, up 16.4% from $45.75 on Jan. 31, 2025.

In the trailing 12 months, the return on equity was 38.9%, having expanded 130 bps from 37.6% in January 2025. The debt-to-total-capital ratio improved 230 bps year over year to 18.1 as of Jan. 31, 2026.

Price Performance

Progressive shares have lost 24.6% in the past year against the industry’s growth of 3.5%.

Zacks Rank

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

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the insurance industry are NMI Holdings Inc. NMIH, The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. HIG and The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. THG, 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.

NMI Holdings’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the last four quarters and matched in one, the average surprise being 6.02%. Shares of NMIH have jumped 12.8% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NMIH’s 2026 and 2027 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 3.6% and 7.7%, respectively. 

The Hartford Insurance’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 18.81%. Shares of HIG have jumped 25.1% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HIG’s 2027 revenues implies year-over-year growth of 8.1%.

The Hanover Insurance’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 23.86%. Shares of THG have jumped 9.7% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for THG’s 2027 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 5.7%.

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

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