Corebridge Stock Down Despite Q3 Earnings Beat on Fixed Annuity Growth

Corebridge Financial Overview - Corebridge Financial, Inc. (CRBG) reported a 2.4% decline in shares following the release of third-quarter 2024 results, primarily due to elevated expenses, a decrease in Life Insurance premiums and deposits, and lower guaranteed investment contract deposits [1] - The Group Retirement segment experienced a drop in spread income, impacting profitability, although this was partially mitigated by strong fixed annuity deposits and improved investment income [1] Financial Performance - CRBG's operating earnings per share for Q3 2024 were $1.38, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 18% and reflecting a 31% year-over-year increase [2] - Adjusted revenues rose 11.1% year over year to $4.5 billion, but fell short of the consensus estimate by 20.8% [2] Operational Highlights - Premiums and deposits totaled $9.6 billion, marking a 5% year-over-year growth, with a 20% increase when excluding transactional activity, driven by rising fixed annuity deposits [4] - Net investment income increased by 24% year over year to $3.3 billion, attributed to higher base portfolio income [4] - Total benefits and expenses rose 6.2% year over year to $3.5 billion, influenced by higher policyholder benefits and advisory fee expenses [5] Segment Performance - Individual Retirement: Premiums and deposits surged 40% year over year to $5.5 billion, with fee income increasing 11.1% to $321 million [8] - Group Retirement: Premiums and deposits grew 7% year over year to $2 billion, but spread income fell 15.8% to $176 million, leading to a 2% decline in adjusted pre-tax operating income to $188 million [10] - Life Insurance: Premiums and deposits decreased by 21.1% to $856 million, while adjusted pre-tax operating income rose 15% to $156 million, surpassing the consensus estimate [11] - Institutional Markets: Premiums and deposits plummeted 44% year over year to $1.3 billion, but adjusted pre-tax operating income more than doubled to $154 million, beating the consensus mark [12] - Corporate and Other: The segment reported an adjusted pre-tax operating loss of $124 million, an improvement from the previous year's loss of $166 million [13] Financial Position - As of September 30, 2024, Corebridge had a cash balance of $530 million, down 13.4% from the end of 2023, while total investments increased by 7.7% to $250.4 billion [14] - Total assets rose 5.3% to $399.4 billion, and total equity improved by 14.3% to $14.4 billion [15][17] - Long-term debt increased by 8.2% to $9.9 billion, and adjusted book value per share was $37.32, a decrease of 2.4% year over year [16][18] Shareholder Returns - In Q3 2024, Corebridge repurchased 25.9 million common shares for $715 million and paid out quarterly dividends totaling $133 million [19]