Principal Financial: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors

On its third-quarter 2026 earnings call, held on Oct. 27, 2026, Principal Financial (NASDAQ:PFG) announced a 12% year-to-date increase in adjusted non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) earnings per share.

The financial services firm is leaning into fee-based retirement administration and expanding its footprint among small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) to build durable earnings power.

Three takeaways from management's presentation stand out for investors.

1. Beam Benefits Expands Small-Business Reach with Cloud Capabilities

Principal Financial acquired Beam Benefits, a cloud-native insurance provider, to expand its presence among small-business customers. Adding digital platform capabilities accelerates client onboarding across its group benefits platform.

On September 1, we completed this acquisition adding more than 26 thousand small-business customers and a digital first cloud native platform. Beam strengthens our ability to serve SMBs with greater speed and ease expanding our reach and accelerating growth in this attractive market.
-- Deanna Dawnette Strable-Soethout, Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer

2. Retirement Platform Growth Drives Recurring Deposits and Asset Consolidation

Within Retirement and Income Solutions (RIS), the company's plan administration segment, participant engagement is expanding existing accounts. Deferral increases and roll-in deposits are deepening customer ties and supplying predictable fee revenue.

Recurring deposits increased 8% year over year. While the number of participants contributing to their retirement plans and the average deferrals per participant both increased by 4%. Participants are also consolidating more of their retirement savings onto our platform.
-- Deanna Dawnette Strable-Soethout, Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer

3. Product Diversification Offsets Active Equity Cash Outflow Headwinds

While traditional active stock funds face industry cash outflows, specialized asset strategies are picking up momentum. Expansion into private markets and active exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which are funds that trade like stocks, provides vital revenue diversification.

Private markets generated $800 million positive net cash flow during the quarter and active ETFs generated positive $500 million Over the trailing 12 months, each has generated approximately $2 billion of positive flows.
-- Deanna Dawnette Strable-Soethout, Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer

Looking Ahead

Year-to-date earnings growth continues to track at the upper end of full-year targets.

Starting on slide 2, our third quarter results build on our strong year to date performance and reinforce our confidence in delivering on our 2026 financial targets.
-- Deanna Dawnette Strable-Soethout, Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer

Broad international pension capabilities, client retention in retirement solutions, and disciplined pricing support long-term capital generation as Principal Financial targets key growth areas.

Today our focus on the retirement ecosystem, small and mid-sized businesses, and global asset management reflects where we are best positioned to win, and we will continue investing in these areas to drive growth at attractive returns to generate long-term value for our customers and shareholders.
-- Deanna Dawnette Strable-Soethout, Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer

The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.