Brighthouse Financial's Q4 Earnings & Revenues Miss, Expenses Rise Y/Y

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

BHF’s Q4 Results in Detail

Premiums of $173 million were down 16.4% year over year. This metric missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13.9%.

Adjusted net investment income was $1.3 billion in the quarter under review, down 3.1% year over year. The decrease was primarily due to reduced institutional spread margin business and the effect of lower short-term interest rates. The adjusted net investment income yield was 4.44%.

Total expenses were $1.5 billion, which surged 314.8% year over year. The year-over-year increase was primarily attributable to unfavorable changes in market risk benefits, along with higher amortization of DAC and VOBA and other expenses.

Corporate expenses, pretax, totaled $234 million, up 11.4% year over year, reflecting costs incurred in connection with the pending acquisition of the company.

BHF’s Full-Year 2025 Update

Brighthouse reported full-year adjusted earnings, less notable items, per share of $16.1, down 18.1% year over year.

Total adjusted revenues amounted to $8.66 billion, down 0.7% year over year.

Adjusted net investment income of $5.2 billion was down 0.4% year over year. Total expenses were $6.8 billion, which surged 43.2%.

BHF’s Quarterly Segmental Update

Annuities recorded adjusted earnings of $304 million, which rose 9% year over year but missed the Zacks Consensus Estimates by 5.1%. Annuity sales increased 22.1% to $2.7 billion, driven by record sales of Shield Level Annuities.

Life’s adjusted earnings were $18 million, down 65.4% year over year. Life insurance sales increased 9.1% to $36 million, primarily driven by sales of Brighthouse SmartCare.

The Run-off segment posted an adjusted loss of $58 million, wider than the adjusted loss of $27 million in the year-ago quarter. On a year-over-year basis, the adjusted loss, less notable items, reflected lower net investment income and a lower underwriting margin, partially offset by lower expenses.

Corporate & Other recorded an adjusted loss of $50 million compared to breakeven results in the prior-year quarter. The decline was primarily due to higher acquisition-related expenses and lower net investment income.

BHF’s Financial Update

Cash and cash equivalents were $5.4 billion, up 6.8% year over year.

Total stockholders’ equity totaled $6.8 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025, up 36% year over year.

Book value per share, excluding accumulated other comprehensive income, was $153.89 as of Dec. 31, 2025, up 5.7% year over year.

Statutory combined total adjusted capital was $5.3 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025, down 1.9% year over year.

As of Dec. 31, 2025, the combined risk-based capital ratio was 456%, above the 400-450% target range.

Zacks Rank

BHF currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Performance of Other Insurers

Voya Financial, Inc. VOYA reported fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted operating earnings of $1.94 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8%. The bottom line increased 38.5% year over year. Adjusted operating revenues amounted to $2 billion, up 5.7% year over year.

The increase was due to higher earnings across all segments, partially offset by higher accruals in Corporate for performance-based compensation, reflecting strong results in 2025. The fourth-quarter 2025 earnings per share also benefited from reduced share count from share repurchases.

Lincoln National Corporation LNC reported fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings per share of $2.21, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 18.7%. The bottom line rose 15.7% year over year. Adjusted operating revenues grew 5.7% year over year to $4.9 billion. The top line beat the consensus mark by 1%.

LNC’s strong quarterly results were supported by higher insurance premiums, strong annuity deposits and solid Life Insurance performance. Higher net investment income and improved mortality results also contributed to the upside. The positives were partly offset by a decline in the sales of Group Protection and elevated expenses.

American Financial Group, Inc. AFG reported fourth-quarter 2025 net operating earnings per share of $3.65, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 14.8%. The bottom line increased 17% year over year on underwriting income.

Total revenues of $2 billion decreased 2.7% year over year. The decline was due to lower net investment income. The top line also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.4%. AFG’s robust fourth-quarter earnings were driven by strong underwriting profit, led primarily by the property and transportation segment.