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Principal Financial Misses Q1 Earnings, Unveils 7% Dividend Hike
PFGPrincipal Financial(PFG) ZACKS·2025-04-25 15:06

Core Insights - Principal Financial Group, Inc. (PFG) reported first-quarter 2025 operating net income of 1.81pershare,whichmissedtheZacksConsensusEstimateby2.11.81 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.1%, but increased 10% year over year [1] - The company experienced a 5.5% year-over-year increase in operating revenues to 4 billion, driven by higher premiums, fees, and net investment income, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.9% [1][2] Financial Performance - Total expenses rose 7% year over year to 3.7billion,attributedtohigherbenefits,claims,andsettlementexpenses,butwaslowerthantheestimated3.7 billion, attributed to higher benefits, claims, and settlement expenses, but was lower than the estimated 4.1 billion [2] - As of March 31, 2025, assets under management (AUM) reached 717.9billion,reflectinga1.3717.9 billion, reflecting a 1.3% year-over-year increase [2] Segment Performance - **Retirement and Income Solution**: Revenues increased 7.4% year over year to 2 million, with pre-tax operating earnings rising 8% to 283.7million,althoughbelowtheestimateof283.7 million, although below the estimate of 315.1 million [3] - Investment Management: Revenues grew 4.2% year over year to 453.7million,butpre−taxoperatingearningsdecreased5453.7 million, but pre-tax operating earnings decreased 5% to 116.3 million, missing the estimate of 155.9million[4]−∗∗InternationalPension∗∗:Revenuesrose6.2155.9 million [4] - **International Pension**: Revenues rose 6.2% year over year to 237.8 million, with pre-tax operating earnings climbing 10% to 71.2million,exceedingtheestimateof71.2 million, exceeding the estimate of 63.1 million [5] - Specialty Benefits: Revenues increased 4.2% year over year to 883.9million,whilepre−taxoperatingearningsrose4883.9 million, while pre-tax operating earnings rose 4% to 106 million, but both figures missed estimates [6] - Life Insurance: Revenues decreased 2.2% year over year to 330.5million,yetpre−taxoperatingearningssurged36330.5 million, yet pre-tax operating earnings surged 36% to 13.3 million, although below the estimate of 27.3million[7]−∗∗Corporate∗∗:Pre−taxoperatinglosseswidenedto27.3 million [7] - **Corporate**: Pre-tax operating losses widened to 105.6 million, exceeding the estimate of a loss of 71.5million[8]FinancialUpdate−AsofMarch31,2025,cashandcashequivalentswere71.5 million [8] Financial Update - As of March 31, 2025, cash and cash equivalents were 3.9 billion, down 7% year over year, while long-term debt increased 10% to 4.3billion[9]−Bookvaluepersharewas4.3 billion [9] - Book value per share was 53.70, a slight decrease of 0.1% year over year [9] Dividend and Share Repurchase - Principal Financial returned 369milliontoshareholders,including369 million to shareholders, including 200 million in share repurchases and $169 million in dividends [10] - The board raised the second-quarter dividend by 7% to 76 cents, marking a 9% increase on a trailing 12-month basis [10]