Globe Life Inc.’s GL second-quarter 2024 net operating income of $2.97 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.4%. The bottom line improved 14% year over year, primarily driven by higher excess investment income and insurance underwriting income.
The second-quarter results benefited on the back of higher Life and Health underwriting income, growth in insurance premiums and improved net investment income, partly offset by an elevated expense level.
Globe Life Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Globe Life Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Globe Life Inc. Quote
Behind the Headlines
Globe Life reported total premium revenues of $1.2 billion, up 5% year over year. This upside was primarily driven by higher premiums from Life and Health insurance.
Net investment income increased 9% year over year to $285.6 million.
The company reported operating revenues of $1.4 billion, up 5.9% from the year-ago quarter. The improvement was driven by growth in Life and Health insurance premiums and higher net investment income. The top line matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Excess investment income, a measure of profitability, increased 36% year over year to $42.7 million.
Total insurance underwriting income increased 8% year over year to $340.4 million. The increase was due to higher Life and Health underwriting income.
Administrative expenses were up 9% year over year to $82.2 million.
Total benefits and expenses surged 89% year over year to $1.11 billion, primarily due to higher total policyholder benefits, amortization of deferred acquisition costs, commissions, premium taxes and non-deferred acquisition costs, as well as other operating expenses and interest expenses.
Segmental Results
Premium revenues at Life increased 4% year over year to $815.4 million, driven by higher premiums written by distribution channels like American Income and Liberty National. American Income grew 7% and Liberty National gained 6%.
Net sales of $153.5 million increased 10% year over year. Underwriting margins increased 8% year over year to $320.3 million.
Health insurance premium revenues rose 7% year over year to $351.6 million, primarily driven by higher premiums from United American, Family Heritage, Liberty National, American Income and Direct to Consumer. Net health sales increased 17% year over year to $57.7 million. Underwriting margins increased 9% year over year to $100.4 million.
Financial Update
Shareholders’ equity, excluding accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI), as of Jun 30, 2024, increased 7.1% year over year to $7.41 billion.
As of Jun 30, 2024, Globe Life reported book value per share, excluding AOCI, of $82.38, up 14.3% year over year.
Operating return on equity, excluding AOCI, was 14.5% in the reported quarter, which contracted 10 basis points year over year.
Share Repurchase
Globe Life repurchased 3.8 million shares worth $314 million in the reported quarter.
2024 View
GL projects net operating income in the range of $11.80-$12.10 per share for the year ending Dec 31, 2024.
Zacks Rank
Globe Life currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Performance of Other Finance Stocks
Euronet Worldwide, Inc. EEFT reported second-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $2.25 per share, which matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The bottom line advanced 11% year over year. Total revenues improved 5% year over year, or 6% on a constant-currency basis, to $986.2 million. Yet, the top line fell short of the consensus mark by 2.4%.
EEFT reported a net income of $83.2 million, which fell 3.3% year over year. Operating income rose 10% year over year, or 12% on a constant-currency basis, to $134.3 million. Total operating expenses of $851.9 million increased 4.3% year over year due to higher direct operating costs, salaries and benefits, and selling, general and administrative expenses. Adjusted EBITDA grew 7% year over year, or 10% on a constant-currency basis, to $178.2 million.
Virtu Financial, Inc. VIRT reported second-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share of 83 cents, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 33.9%. The bottom line jumped from 37 cents per share a year ago. Adjusted net trading income improved more than 36% year over year to $385.1 million in the quarter under review. It beat the consensus estimate by 15.8%.
Revenues from commissions, net and technology services amounted to $126.1 million, which rose from $109.5 million a year ago. The metric beat the consensus mark and our model estimate of $113.1 million. Interest and dividend income of $107.1 million climbed from $98 million a year ago but fell short of the consensus mark and our estimate of $122.4 million. Adjusted EBITDA jumped to $217.5 million in the quarter under review from $122 million a year ago and surpassed our model estimate of $162.4 million.
American Express Company AXP reported second-quarter 2024 earnings per share of $3.49, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.4%. The bottom line climbed 20.8% year over year. Total revenues net of interest expense amounted to $16.3 billion, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.5%. However, the top line improved 8.5% year over year.
Network volumes of $440.6 billion rose 3.3% year over year in the second quarter on the back of higher consumer spending. However, the figure lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $448.2 billion. Total interest income of $5.79 billion increased 21% year over year but missed the consensus mark of $5.8 billion. Provision for credit losses escalated 6% year over year to $1.3 billion due to a rise in net write-offs, partially offset by a reduced net reserve build. Total expenses increased 1% year over year to $11.3 billion.
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