MetLife, Inc. (MET)

MetLife reported net income of $2.4 billion, or $3.67 per share, for the third quarter of 2026, up 187 percent from a year earlier 1.

Adjusted earnings, a measure the company says shows the underlying profitability of its businesses, rose 12 percent to $1.8 billion 1.

Adjusted earnings per share, leaving out notable items, were $2.85, which the company called the highest-ever quarter for MetLife 1.

Premiums, fees and other revenues, the money customers pay for coverage and services, grew 12 percent to $14.1 billion, with revenue up in every business segment 1.

Variable investment income, which swings with returns on assets such as private equity, rose 49 percent to $720 million, and the company said private equity returns put it above its guidance 12.

The yearly review of insurance assumptions reduced net income by $56 million and adjusted earnings by $46 million in the quarter 1.

The company said its direct expense ratio, a measure of operating cost against revenue, was 11.9 percent, on track to beat the 12.1 percent target for the year 2.

The company holds its third-quarter earnings call on 5 November 2026, the first chance for questions on these results 1.

MetLife says it was founded in 1868 and now operates in more than 40 markets 1.

On 7 April 2000 Metropolitan Life Insurance Company converted from a mutual life insurer to a stock life insurer 3. MetLife shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on 5 April 2000 3.

At that conversion, eligible policyholders received beneficial ownership of shares through the MetLife Policyholder Trust, which still holds a large block of the stock today 5.

In 2017 MetLife separated Brighthouse Financial, Inc., its former U.S. retail life and annuity business, by distributing Brighthouse common stock 3.

The company began its Next Horizon strategy in 2019, aimed to focus, simplify and differentiate the company 3. Michel Khalaf became chief executive in May 2019 3.

On 12 December 2024 MetLife unveiled New Frontier, a five-year strategy, with commitments of double-digit adjusted earnings per share growth, a 15-17 percent adjusted return on equity and $25 billion of free cash flow 8.

The strategy names four areas: Group Benefits, the retirement platform, asset management, and high-growth international markets 8.

The day before, on 11 December 2024, MetLife and General Atlantic announced Chariot Re, a Bermuda life and annuity reinsurance company, with each expected to own about 15 percent at the start 9.

MetLife said it expected to reinsure to Chariot Re about $10 billion of structured settlement and pension risk transfer liabilities 9.

Total revenues were $66.9 billion in 2023, $71.0 billion in 2024 and $77.1 billion in 2025, and premiums rose to $49.8 billion in 2025 from $44.9 billion in 2024 3.

Net income available to common shareholders was $1.4 billion in 2023, $4.2 billion in 2024 and $3.2 billion in 2025, while adjusted earnings were $5.5 billion, $5.8 billion and $5.9 billion 3.

The annual report ties the $1.1 billion fall in 2025 net income mainly to an unfavorable change of $316 million in derivative gains and losses and of $601 million in market risk benefit remeasurement 3.

On 30 December 2025 MetLife completed the acquisition of PineBridge Investments, a global asset manager, paying $885 million in cash at closing, including $800 million of purchase consideration 3.

In the fourth quarter of 2025 the company made its asset management arm a reportable segment and removed MetLife Holdings as one, leaving six segments 3.

In 2025 a MetLife subsidiary signed two reinsurance agreements with Chariot Re, and MetLife invested $216 million in Chariot in the third quarter 3.

Adjusted earnings for the first six months of 2026 were $3.2 billion, against $2.7 billion in the same period of 2025 4.

How the business is organized

MetLife provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management, and says it holds leading positions in the United States, Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East 3.

It is also one of the largest institutional investors in the U.S., with a general account invested mainly in bonds and mortgage loans 3.

Group Benefits

Group Benefits, based in the U.S., offers life insurance, dental, disability, paid family and medical leave, accident and health, and vision cover, plus prepaid legal plans and pet insurance 3.

Employers purchase it for their staff, and MetLife says employers have been emphasizing voluntary products that employees choose and pay for 3.

In the third quarter of 2026 adjusted earnings were $523 million, up 15 percent, and adjusted premiums, fees and other revenues were $6.5 billion 1.

Excluding participating contracts, those revenues were $5.1 billion, up 5 percent, with growth in core and voluntary products 1.

Retirement and Income Solutions

Retirement and Income Solutions helps employers manage pension and benefit promises through stable value contracts, pension risk transfers, structured settlements and funding agreements 3.

A pension risk transfer is a deal in which an employer hands part of its pension promises to an insurer, which then pays the retirees 3.

Third-quarter adjusted earnings were $413 million, down 6 percent, reflecting notable items from the annual actuarial assumption review 1.

Excluding notable items, adjusted earnings were $478 million, up 12 percent, and revenues excluding pension risk transfers were $1.6 billion, up 33 percent 1.

Asia

Asia operates in nine jurisdictions, and its largest operation is in Japan 3.

It sells life insurance, accident and health cover, and annuities through agents, banks and brokers 3.

Third-quarter adjusted earnings were $602 million, up 11 percent, and sales were $728 million, down 6 percent in constant currency, which strips out exchange-rate swings 1.

Year-to-date sales were up 10 percent in constant currency, led by Japan and Korea 1.

Latin America

Latin America's largest operations are in Mexico and Chile, where MetLife runs an exclusive agency network and also sells through direct marketing and brokers 3.

Adjusted earnings were $215 million, up 45 percent, and revenues were $2.0 billion, up 22 percent 1.

Excluding notable items, earnings were $229 million, up 3 percent, as volume growth was largely offset by lower returns on encaje, the company's term for its required reserve investments in Chile 1.

Europe, the Middle East and Africa

EMEA's largest operations are in the Gulf region, the U.K., Turkey and France, and it uses agents, brokers, banks and direct sales 3.

Third-quarter adjusted earnings were $108 million, up 24 percent, on revenues of $832 million, up 14 percent 1.

MetLife Investment Management

MetLife Investment Management, MIM, runs money for institutions in public and private bonds, real estate, equities, private equity and insurance solutions, and also manages MetLife's own general account 3.

PineBridge, bought on 30 December 2025, added scale and broader products 3.

Third-quarter adjusted earnings were $63 million, up 9 percent, other revenues were $319 million, up 34 percent, and total assets under management were $723.4 billion, up 14 percent 1.

Investments and capital

Adjusted net investment income was $6.0 billion in the third quarter, up 10 percent 1.

The general account was $431 billion at 30 September 2026, and exposure to hyperscalers and data centers was $4.1 billion, with each group under 1 percent of it 2.

Commercial mortgage loans fell 26 percent to $38.3 billion from $52.1 billion at year end 2023, and the office part fell to $14.2 billion from $19.7 billion 2.

In the third quarter MetLife returned about $1.0 billion to shareholders: $380 million in common dividends and $650 million of share repurchases 2.

Holding company cash and liquid assets were $3.4 billion at quarter end, within the target range 1.

People and workforce

Michel Khalaf is president and chief executive, and John McCallion is chief financial officer and head of MetLife Investment Management since September 2023 3.

The company had about 46,000 employees at the end of 2025 3.

On 24 February 2026 the board grew from eleven to thirteen directors with the election of Daniel Glaser and Michelle Seitz 7.

At the 16 June 2026 annual meeting shareholders elected eleven directors, ratified Deloitte & Touche as auditor and approved executive pay in a non-binding vote 6.

Rivals and risks

In the U.S. and Japan MetLife competes with many domestic and foreign-owned life insurers, and elsewhere with the foreign arms of large U.S. insurers and with global groups and local companies 3.

In asset management it competes with traditional managers, boutique firms and diversified financial institutions, and the annual report warns of fee compression and a shift to lower-fee passive products 3.

The annual report lists separation risks from Brighthouse, including that the IRS could determine the 2017 distribution was taxable 3.

The umbrella, in words

The main brand is MetLife, and the annual report also names the PROVIDA trademark, acquired with a pension business in Latin America 3.

Exhibit 21.1 of the annual report lists wholly owned active subsidiaries, among them Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, American Life Insurance Company, its Japanese insurer, MetLife Investment Management, LLC and many PineBridge entities 10.

The list leaves out real estate joint ventures and partnerships in which MetLife or a subsidiary is an investment partner 10.

MetLife invested $216 million in Chariot Holding Company, LP in the third quarter of 2025 and $20 million more in the fourth 3. It has unfunded capital commitments of $94 million and uses the equity method 3.

The annual report's properties item reads Not applicable, so it lists no owned sites 3.

The largest holder in the proxy table is the MetLife Policyholder Trust at 16.17 percent, with beneficiaries who are eligible former policyholders, followed by Dodge & Cox at 8.26 percent and BlackRock at 8.15 percent 5.

Vanguard, which reported 11.21 percent earlier, was removed from that table after an internal realignment on 12 January 2026 5.

The annual report lists the board's influence over shareholder votes through the Policyholder Trust's voting provisions among its risk factors 3.

The annual report says the company intends to keep executing New Frontier over the next four years 3.

New Frontier's stated commitments are double-digit adjusted earnings per share growth, a 15-17 percent adjusted return on equity, a 100-basis-point cut in the direct expense ratio target and $25 billion of free cash flow 8.

The third-quarter presentation says the company is on track to exceed the annual 15-17 percent return-on-equity target and to beat the 12.1 percent direct expense ratio target 2.

The release adds that the company is on track to deliver against its free cash flow ratio and direct expense ratio targets for the year 1.

For variable investment income, the company's full-year 2026 guidance is about $1.6 billion before tax, or a quarterly target of $400 million 2.

The presentation shows a cash buffer target for holding company liquidity of $3.0 billion to $4.0 billion 2.

Year-to-date share repurchases were $2.4 billion through October 2026, including $265 million in October 2.

The board authorized an additional $3.0 billion of repurchases in April 2025, and $2.1 billion remained at the end of 2025 3.

The PineBridge purchase price is preliminary and may change in a measurement period of up to one year from the 30 December 2025 closing 3.

Directors elected on 16 June 2026 serve terms expiring at the 2027 annual meeting 6.

The third-quarter earnings call is on 5 November 2026 1.

The company expects total U.S. statutory adjusted capital of about $17.0 billion at the end of the third quarter, up 3 percent from the end of the second, on the insurance regulators' NAIC basis 2.

Its Japan business reported an economic solvency ratio of 192 percent for the fiscal year ended 31 March 2026 2.

The company has not said, in the documents read, whether it will buy another asset manager or insurer after PineBridge 3.

Past

MetLife's revenue grew from $61 billion in fiscal 2016 to $77 billion in fiscal 2025, up 2.7% a year, rising in 7 of 9 years, with the deepest fall of 4% from fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2023. Net income stayed positive in all 10 filed years. Over the three fiscal years to 2025, the diluted share count shrank about 5.9% a year, and dividends and buybacks returned about 30% of operating cash flow. The filings since 2017 show no warning events: no bankruptcy or receivership notice, no debt default notice, no exchange listing notice, no restatement warning, no auditor change, no material cyber incident and no late-report notice. 1

Present

In the fiscal year ended 2025-12-31, MetLife reported revenue of $77 billion and a profit of $3.4 billion. Return on equity was about 12 cents of profit for every dollar of shareholders' money. Leverage stood at about 96 cents per dollar of assets, and the share count shrank 5.3% over the year. Revenue of $77 billion ranks in the top 3% by size among 18 companies in its industry family; a net margin of 4.4% ranks in the bottom 31%; revenue growth of 3.9% a year over the last 3 filed years ranks in the top 47%. The chief executive, Khalaf Michel, has filed under that title since 2020-02-27, 6.6 years; the 20 officers and directors filing in the last fifteen months have been on the record a median of 7 years; 7 officer or director changes were reported on Form 8-K since 2023-10-21. 21

Future

A quarterly report for the quarter ending 2026-09-30 is due by 2026-11-09. The annual report for the fiscal year ending 2026-12-31 is due by 2027-03-01. Cash of $22 billion against no long-term debt tagged leaves 3% of assets as net cash, top 19% of its family; cash from operations less capital spending is 22.2% of revenue, top 28%. Revenue grew 3.9% a year over the last three filed years against 2.7% over all 10, speeding up; the newest year grew 8.6%. Revenue of $77 billion in fiscal 2025 came in 6.9% above the $72 billion the prior three years' pace pointed to; net income of $3.4 billion fell against a prior three-year average of $3.8 billion; a net margin of 4.4% against 5.4% before. 31

How the company operates

MetLife reported 6 lines of business in fiscal 2025: Group Benefits at $27 billion, Retirement and Income Solutions at $21 billion, Asia at $12 billion, and 3 more; all 6 grew in the latest filed year, and the largest line is 37% of revenue. Revenue by line in fiscal 2025 breaks down as Group Benefits $26.88 billion, Retirement and Income Solutions $21.04 billion, Asia $11.96 billion, Latin America $8.3 billion, EMEA $3.15 billion, and MetLife Investment Management $0.94 billion. 14

New moves

On 2026-09-24, the company filed Form 8-K for investor disclosure under Regulation FD. On 2026-08-17, the company filed Form 8-K for another event it chose to report. On 2026-08-06, the company filed its quarterly report for the period ended 2026-06-30. On 2026-02-26, the company filed Form 8-K for new debt or an obligation taken on and for another event it chose to report. On 2026-02-24, the company filed Form 8-K for an officer or director change. 3