CNO Financial Group Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results

Core Insights - CNO Financial Group reported strong financial results for Q4 and full year 2025, achieving its 14th consecutive quarter of strong insurance sales with total new annualized premiums increasing by 15% year-over-year [1][5] - Operating earnings per share grew by 11%, driven by strong insurance product margins, investment results, and disciplined expense management [1][5] - The company returned $386 million to shareholders in 2025, marking an 11% increase from 2024, supported by healthy free cash flow generation [1][5] Financial Performance - Q4 2025 net income was $93 million, or $0.95 per diluted share, while net operating income was $143 million, or $1.47 per diluted share [5][10] - For the full year 2025, net income was $229 million, or $2.30 per diluted share, and net operating income was $439 million, or $4.40 per diluted share [5][10] - The return on equity (ROE) for 2025 was 8.9%, with an operating ROE of 11.4% when excluding significant items [5][30] Shareholder Returns - The company repurchased $60 million of common stock during Q4 2025, with an average cost of $40.74 per share, and had authority to repurchase an additional $420.4 million [25] - Dividends paid on common stock totaled $16.2 million in Q4 2025 [25] Investment Portfolio - As of December 31, 2025, CNO's available-for-sale fixed maturity portfolio had a fair value of $23.9 billion, with net unrealized losses of $2.1 billion [23] - The allowance for credit losses was $36 million at the end of 2025 [23] Capital Position - The consolidated statutory risk-based capital ratio for CNO's U.S. insurance subsidiaries was estimated at 380% as of December 31, 2025 [24] - Book value per share increased to $27.92 at the end of 2025, compared to $24.75 at the end of 2024 [27]