HIG Q2 Earnings Beat on Premium Growth in Business Insurance Unit

Core Insights - The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (HIG) reported second-quarter 2025 adjusted operating earnings of $3.41 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 23.1% and reflecting a 36% year-over-year increase [1][8] - Operating revenues increased by 9.9% year over year to $4.9 billion, driven by improved earned premiums, fee income, and investment income, slightly surpassing the consensus estimate by 0.2% [1][2] Financial Performance - Earned premiums reached $5.96 billion, a 6.9% year-over-year increase, although it fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.02 billion [3] - Pre-tax net investment income improved by 10.3% year over year to $664 million, but missed the consensus mark of $672 million [4] - Total benefits, losses, and expenses rose by 3% year over year to $5.7 billion, leading to a pretax income increase of 36.6% year over year to $1.2 billion [5] Segment Performance - Business Insurance: Revenues grew by 10.9% year over year to $3.87 billion, with core earnings improving by 26% to $697 million, driven by higher earned premiums and lower catastrophe losses [6][8] - Personal Insurance: Revenues advanced by 10.1% year over year to $1 billion, with core earnings of $94 million compared to a core loss of $4 million in the prior year [8][10] - Employee Benefits: Revenues dipped by 0.2% year over year to $1.77 billion, with core earnings falling by 8% to $163 million due to higher expenses and loss ratios [10] - Hartford Funds: Revenues increased by 3.8% year over year to $271 million, with core earnings rising by 7% to $46 million [11] Financial Position - As of June 30, 2025, Hartford had cash of $166 million, down 9.3% from the end of 2024, while total investments increased by 2.9% to $60.9 billion [13] - Total assets grew by 3.4% to $83.6 billion, with total stockholders' equity improving by 6.5% to $17.5 billion [13][14] - Book value per share was $60.02, reflecting a 17% year-over-year increase [14] Capital Deployment - Hartford returned $549 million to shareholders through share buybacks of $400 million and dividends of $149 million, with a remaining buyback capacity of $2.35 billion as of June 30, 2025 [15]