Third Quarter 2026
Filed Oct 21, 2026Globe Life reported third-quarter diluted net income of $4.62 per common share and net operating income of $4.84 per diluted common share, while adjusting full-year 2026 earnings guidance to $15.35 to $15.65.
Premium revenue, health premium, health net sales, and net operating income per share increased, and the company raised full-year share-repurchase guidance. However, GAAP net income, life underwriting income, total insurance underwriting income, and total life net sales declined, while United American recorded an underwriting loss tied to Evry claims and Medicare Supplement claims-processing delays.
Key metrics
shortened, hover for the filing’s print| Metric | Value | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $1.60B | – | – |
| Total revenue, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $4.76B | – | – |
| Total premium revenue, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $1.31B | – | 7% |
| Total premium revenue, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $3.88B | – | – |
| Life premium revenue, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $864.6M | – | 2% |
| Life premium revenue, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $2.58B | – | – |
| Health premium revenue, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $446.9M | – | 16% |
| Health premium revenue, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $1.30B | – | – |
| Net investment income, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $295.9M | – | 3% |
| Net investment income, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $879.5M | – | – |
| Realized gains (losses), three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | −$12.61M | – | – |
| Realized gains (losses), nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | −$6.95M | – | – |
| Other income, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $1.25M | – | – |
| Other income, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $3.56M | – | – |
| Total policyholder benefits, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $694.1M | – | – |
| Total policyholder benefits, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $2.28B | – | – |
| Amortization of deferred acquisition costs, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $124.7M | – | – |
| Amortization of deferred acquisition costs, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $363.5M | – | – |
| Commissions, premium taxes, and non-deferred acquisition costs, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $174.9M | – | – |
| Commissions, premium taxes, and non-deferred acquisition costs, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $518.5M | – | – |
| Other operating expense, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $123.3M | – | – |
| Other operating expense, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $353.3M | – | – |
| Interest expense, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $37.81M | – | – |
| Interest expense, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $107.9M | – | – |
| Total benefits and expenses, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $1.15B | – | – |
| Total benefits and expenses, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $3.63B | – | – |
| Income before income taxes, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $441.2M | – | – |
| Income before income taxes, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $1.13B | – | – |
| Income tax benefit (expense), three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | −$80.13M | – | – |
| Income tax benefit (expense), nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | −$210.9M | – | – |
| Net income, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $361.1M | – | – |
| Net income, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $919.4M | – | – |
| Diluted net income per common share, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $ 4.62 | – | – |
| Diluted net income per common share, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $ 11.64 | – | – |
| Basic net income per common share, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $ 4.71 | – | – |
| Basic net income per common share, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | $ 11.86 | – | – |
| Net operating income, three months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $378.8M | – | (4) |
| Net operating income per diluted common share, three months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $ 4.84 | – | 1% |
| Net operating income, nine months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $937.0M | – | – |
| Insurance underwriting income, three months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $481.8M | – | (4) |
| Insurance underwriting income per share, three months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $ 6.16 | – | — |
| Life underwriting margin, three months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $458.2M | – | (5) |
| Life underwriting margin as a percentage of premium, three months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | 53% | – | – |
| Health underwriting margin, three months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $115.6M | – | 7% |
| Health underwriting margin as a percentage of premium, three months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | 26% | – | – |
| Total life net sales, three months ended September 30, 2026other | $149.1M | – | (1) |
| Total health net sales, three months ended September 30, 2026other | $94.11M | – | 32% |
| Excess investment income, three months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $37.95M | – | 3% |
| Excess investment income per diluted common share, three months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $ 0.49 | – | 9% |
| Net income as an ROE, nine months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | 19.7 % | – | – |
| Net operating income as an ROE excluding AOCI, nine months ended September 30, 2026non-GAAP | 15.9 % | – | – |
| Shareholders' equity, September 30, 2026GAAP | $6.62B | – | – |
| Shareholders' equity, excluding AOCI, September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $8.04B | – | – |
| Book value per share, September 30, 2026GAAP | $ 85.35 | – | 23% |
| Book value per share, excluding AOCI, September 30, 2026non-GAAP | $ 103.62 | – | 11% |
| Weighted average diluted shares outstanding, three months ended September 30, 2026GAAP | 78,225 | – | – |
Segments
| Segment | Revenue | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life insurance premium revenueLife insurance accounted for 66% of total premium revenue. | $864.6M | – | 2% |
| Health insurance premium revenueHealth insurance accounted for 34% of total premium revenue. | $446.9M | – | 16% |
| American Income life premiumLife underwriting margin was $ 268,457, up 3%. | $470.4M | – | 4% |
| Direct to Consumer life premiumLife net sales were $ 24,023, down (12). | $243.1M | – | (1) |
| Liberty National life premiumLife net sales were $ 25,978, up 7%; quarterly average producing agent count was 4,187, up 9%. | $ 102,000 | – | 4% |
| Other life premiumLife underwriting margin was $ 25,648, down (30), due primarily to fluctuations in assumption updates. | $49.11M | – | (2) |
| United American health premiumHealth underwriting margin was $ (6,371); the underwriting loss was due primarily to an underwriting loss at Evry of approximately $16 million and approximately $7 million of excess prior period Medicare Supplement claims. | $219.3M | – | 29% |
| Family Heritage health premiumHealth underwriting margin was $ 56,754, up 12%; health net sales were $ 34,645, up 5%. | $128.6M | – | 8% |
| Liberty National health premiumHealth underwriting margin was $ 25,391, up 2%; health net sales were $ 7,374, down (13). | $46.56M | – | (2) |
| American Income health premiumHealth underwriting margin was $ 37,850, up 155; margin excluding assumption updates was 65.4%, compared to 59.7%. | $31.49M | – | (1) |
| Direct to Consumer health premiumHealth underwriting margin was $ 2,013, unchanged; health net sales were $ 517, down (31). | $20.84M | – | 9% |
Amounts quoted below without a unit are in thousands, as in the filing’s tables. Per-share figures are as printed.
Year ending December 31, 2026 and 2027 outlook
- NoteFull-year 2026 earnings guidance: $15.35 to $15.65.
- NoteFor the year ending December 31, 2027, net operating income per share: $16.10 to $17.10.
- NoteFor the year ending December 31, 2027, net operating income per share midpoint increase: 7.1%.
- NoteExpected full-year 2026 common-stock repurchases: $725 million to $775 million.
Capital returns
- During the quarter, the Company repurchased 1.1 million shares of Globe Life Inc. common stock at a total cost of $185 million and an average share price of $175.61.
- The Company expects to spend $725 million to $775 million to repurchase common stock for the full year 2026, compared to the previous guidance of $670 million to $700 million.
What drove it
- Total premium revenue grew 7%, driven by a 16% increase in health premium revenue; life premium revenue increased 2%.
- Health net sales increased 32%, including a 95% increase at United American and a 5% increase at Family Heritage.
- American Income life underwriting margin increased 3%, and Family Heritage health underwriting margin increased 12%.
- Excess investment income increased 3% to $ 37,945 and excess investment income per share increased 9% to $ 0.49.
- The current period included a $120.5 million before-tax remeasurement gain due to assumption updates, comprising $96.4 million related to Life and $24.1 million related to Health.
Concerns
- Total life net sales declined (1), with Direct to Consumer life net sales down (12) and Other life net sales down (3).
- Life underwriting margin declined (5) to $ 458,168, while total insurance underwriting income declined (4) to $ 481,832.
- United American posted a health underwriting loss of $ (6,371), due primarily to an underwriting loss at Evry of approximately $16 million and approximately $7 million of excess prior period Medicare Supplement claims.
- The Company adjusted full-year 2026 earnings guidance due to high-severity claims at Evry and a claims-processing delay at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
- GAAP diluted net income per common share declined to $ 4.62 from $ 4.73, and GAAP net income declined to $ 361,107 from $ 387,843.
What to watch
- The trajectory of high-severity claims at Evry as the developing group health business grows and scales.
- Resolution of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services claims-processing delay and the resulting excess prior-period Medicare Supplement claims.
- Life sales and underwriting margins, particularly Direct to Consumer sales and Liberty National and Other life underwriting margins.
- Whether health premium and health net-sales growth, notably at United American and Family Heritage, continues.
- Execution against the increased $725 million to $775 million full-year 2026 share-repurchase expectation.
- The planned full-year 2026 earnings range of $15.35 to $15.65 and 2027 net operating income per share range of $16.10 to $17.10.
Balance sheet and cash flow
- Shareholders' equity was $ 6,618,484 at September 30, 2026, compared with $ 5,689,088 at September 30, 2025.
- Shareholders' equity excluding AOCI was $ 8,035,427 at September 30, 2026, compared with $ 7,661,979 at September 30, 2025.
- Total investment portfolio at book value was $ 19,633,378 as of September 30, 2026.
- Fixed maturities at fair value were $ 16,873,879, or 86% of the total investment portfolio, as of September 30, 2026.
- Fixed maturities at amortized cost were $19.6 billion, net of $3.3 million of allowance for credit losses, as of September 30, 2026.
- Net unrealized gains (losses) recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) were $ (2,687,212) as of September 30, 2026.
- At amortized cost, net of allowance for credit losses, and at fair value, 97% of fixed maturities were rated “investment grade.”
- The fixed maturity portfolio earned an annual taxable equivalent effective yield of 5.33% during the third quarter of 2026, compared with 5.26% in the year-ago quarter.
- Operating cash flow and free cash flow were not reported.
Analysis
Globe Life delivered premium growth and a modest increase in non-GAAP per-share operating income in the third quarter, but GAAP earnings and underwriting income declined. Total premium revenue increased 7% to $ 1,311,409, with health premium up 16% to $ 446,857 and life premium up 2% to $ 864,552. Total revenue was $ 1,595,937, compared with $ 1,512,988. Net operating income per diluted common share increased to $ 4.84 from $ 4.81, while diluted GAAP net income per common share declined to $ 4.62 from $ 4.73.
The insurance mix shifted toward health. Health underwriting margin increased 7% to $ 115,637, even as its margin as a percentage of premium fell to 26% from 28%. Family Heritage was a source of strength, with health premium up 8%, health net sales up 5%, and health underwriting margin up 12%. United American produced 29% health premium growth and 95% health net-sales growth, but recorded a $ (6,371) underwriting margin. The company attributed that loss primarily to an underwriting loss at Evry of approximately $16 million and approximately $7 million of excess prior-period Medicare Supplement claims following a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services processing delay.
Life results were softer. Life underwriting margin declined 5% to $ 458,168, and its margin as a percentage of premium fell to 53% from 57%. Total life net sales declined (1) to $ 149,092, reflecting a 12% decline in Direct to Consumer sales and a 3% decline in Other sales, partly offset by 7% growth at Liberty National. American Income remained constructive, with life premium up 4% and life underwriting margin up 3%. The quarterly results also included a $120.5 million before-tax remeasurement gain from annual reserve assumption updates, compared with $134.3 million in the year-ago quarter.
Investment contribution improved, with excess investment income rising 3% to $ 37,945 and per-share excess investment income rising 9% to $ 0.49. The fixed maturity portfolio earned an annual taxable equivalent effective yield of 5.33%, compared with 5.26% in the year-ago quarter. Capital deployment remained substantial: Globe Life repurchased 1.1 million shares for $185 million at an average share price of $175.61. The reduced diluted share count was 78,225 versus 82,015 in the year-ago quarter.
Management adjusted full-year 2026 earnings guidance to $15.35 to $15.65, specifically citing Evry high-severity claims and the Medicare Supplement claims-processing delay rather than a fundamental change in the core business. It increased expected 2026 common-stock repurchases to $725 million to $775 million from previous guidance of $670 million to $700 million. For 2027, the company estimated net operating income per share of $16.10 to $17.10, an increase of 7.1% at the midpoint.
Not in the filing
stated, not guessed- Prior-quarter comparisons for reported income, revenue, premium, margin, sales, cash flow, balance-sheet, and per-share metrics were not reported, except for quarterly average producing agent count.
- Operating cash flow was not reported.
- Free cash flow was not reported.
- Cash and cash equivalents were not reported.
- Total debt and debt maturities were not reported.
- Dividend declaration or dividend payment information was not reported.
- Gross margin was not reported.
- Tax rate was not reported.
- Named executive commentary and named executive quotes were not provided.
- Prior outlook section was not provided; therefore, no reported-period comparison with prior earnings guidance is included. The prior share-repurchase guidance is disclosed in the current release but is not evaluated in vs_prior_guidance.
Written by an AI language model from the company’s SEC earnings filing (Form 8-K Item 2.02, or Form 6-K for a foreign private issuer). Every figure is checked against the filing text, and a metric the filing does not print, or whose value, prior period and change do not add up, is dropped from the metrics. The model can still misread a table, in the metrics or in the text, so check a number in the filing before you rely on it. Consensus estimates, price targets and share-price reactions are not shown because they are not in the filing. AI-generated research, not investment advice.