Aflac (AFL) Misses Q4 Earnings and Revenue Estimates

Core Viewpoint - Aflac reported quarterly earnings of $1.56 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of$ 1.62 per share, but showing an increase from $1.25 per share a year ago, indicating a -3.70% earnings surprise [1] - The company posted revenues of$ 4.31 billion for the quarter, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.74%, and up from $3.78 billion year-over-year [2] Earnings Performance - Over the last four quarters, Aflac has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times [2] - The company had a significant earnings surprise of 27.06% in the previous quarter, where it reported earnings of$ 2.16 per share against an expectation of $1.70 [1][2] Stock Performance - Aflac shares have increased by approximately 3.2% since the beginning of the year, outperforming the S&P 500's gain of 2.7% [3] - The current Zacks Rank for Aflac is 3 (Hold), indicating expected performance in line with the market in the near future [6] Future Outlook - The current consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is$ 1.71 on revenues of $4.39 billion, and for the current fiscal year, it is$ 7 on revenues of $17.52 billion [7] - The outlook for the industry, particularly the Insurance - Accident and Health sector, is favorable, ranking in the top 11% of over 250 Zacks industries [8] Industry Context - Empirical research indicates a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions, suggesting that investors should monitor these revisions closely [5] - Trupanion, another company in the same industry, is expected to report quarterly earnings of$ 0.06 per share, reflecting a year-over-year change of +220%, with revenues projected at $335.69 million, up 13.5% from the previous year [9][10]