Globe Life Posts 10% EPS Gain in Q2
Key Points
Adjusted EPS rose to $3.27 for Q2 2025, beating the analyst estimate of $3.25 and growing 10% over the year-ago quarter.
Revenue was $1.48 billion for Q2 2025, below the $1.506 billion GAAP estimate, with both life and health premiums up.
Management reaffirmed full-year guidance for 2025 despite soft revenue and challenges in excess investment income.
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Globe Life (NYSE:GL), a leading provider of life and health insurance products in the United States, released its earnings for Q2 2025 on July 23, 2025. The most significant news from the report was that adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $3.27, beating the average analyst estimate of $3.25. However, GAAP revenue was $1.48 billion, which was below expectations of $1.506 billion. Despite the GAAP revenue shortfall and a notable drop in excess investment income (non-GAAP), Globe Life's non-GAAP EPS grew 10% over the year-ago quarter. The company also reaffirmed its full-year earnings guidance, indicating confidence in its operational and financial outlook.
| Metric | Q2 2025 | Q2 2025 Estimate | Q2 2024 | Y/Y Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted EPS | $3.27 | $3.25 | $2.97 | 10.1% |
| EPS | $3.05 | $2.83 | 8% | |
| Revenue | $1.48 billion | $1.51 billion | $1.44 billion | 2.8% |
| Insurance underwriting income | $354.2 million | $340.4 million | 4.1% | |
| Excess investment income | $34.8 million | $42.8 million | (19%) |
Source: Globe Life. Note: Analysts' consensus estimates provided by FactSet.
Company Overview and Business Focus
Globe Life specializes in selling individual life and health insurance to middle-income families. It operates through several brands and distribution channels, relying on both exclusive and independent insurance agents as well as direct-to-consumer outreach. The company’s products are long duration, providing protection mainly through term and whole life insurance policies, and supplemental health products such as accident and Medicare supplement insurance.
In recent years, Globe Life has focused on strengthening its agent distribution force, and maintaining a conservative investment approach. Key factors for profitability include agent productivity, the ability to maintain sound underwriting margins, and prudent investment in high-quality, investment-grade bonds. Ongoing regulatory compliance and sustainable business initiatives, such as those aligned with industry reporting standards and diverse board composition, are also key priorities.
Quarterly Highlights and Financial Developments
The most notable development for the quarter was Globe Life's continued growth in non-GAAP EPS, which increased 10% year-over-year, even as total revenue (GAAP) landed below consensus. Life insurance premium revenue rose 3% in Q1 2025, while health premium revenue grew 8%. Combined, these segments generated non-GAAP insurance underwriting income of $354.2 million, up 4% from the prior year. This income reflects the core profitability of Globe Life's main insurance products, which remain the backbone of its business model.
Distribution strength was evident through higher agent counts at American Income Life and Family Heritage, both key drivers of future sales momentum. American Income Life, the largest exclusive agent channel, grew its average producing agent count by 3% to 12,241. Family Heritage, another important channel for health sales, expanded its agent count 10% to 1,498. Notably, the Direct to Consumer channel, which focuses on marketing directly to customers via mail, internet, and phone, showed a 24% sequential rebound in life net sales compared to Q1 2025 and an 8% year-over-year increase in life underwriting margin.
Segment performance was mixed across product lines. The life insurance segment continued to provide the bulk of Globe Life’s profitability, making up 78% of underwriting margin and 69% of premium revenue. Life underwriting margin improved 6%, while health underwriting margin declined 2% (non-GAAP). Margin pressures in health were mainly concentrated in the Medicare supplement business, where higher claims utilization and reported fraud affected profitability. While premium rate increases have begun to offset some of these pressures, the company noted that health margin normalization may not fully occur until 2026.
On the investment side, Globe Life retained a conservative position with 97% of its $18.95 billion fixed maturity portfolio rated as investment grade as of June 30, 2025. New fixed-income investments yielded 6.4% on average. However, net investment income (GAAP) slipped 1% year over year, and excess investment income dropped 19%. The company reported unrealized losses in its bond portfolio tied to higher interest rates as of Q1 2025, but stressed that no forced asset sales are needed because of close asset-liability matching. Globe Life repurchased 1.9 million shares for $226 million, reducing the average diluted share count.
Outlook and What to Watch
Looking ahead, Globe Life reaffirmed its full-year 2025 net operating income (non-GAAP) EPS guidance range of $14.25 to $14.65 per diluted share. This projection is higher than ranges provided earlier in the year, Management reaffirmed full-year guidance despite soft revenue and challenges in excess investment income. Management expects life underwriting margins to strengthen further in the second half of 2025 due to favorable mortality experience, potentially leading to a remeasurement gain of $60 million to $100 million in Q3 2025, although full normalization may extend into 2026 or beyond.
Trends in agent counts and productivity are closely tied to future sales growth, while the pace of margin recovery in the health insurance segment and movements in investment yields will continue to affect overall results. On the regulatory front, Globe Life remains the subject of ongoing inquiries by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Department of Justice (DOJ), though management reported no material updates. The company continues to meet or exceed risk-based capital requirements.
Revenue and net income presented using U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) unless otherwise noted.
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