CNO Financial Group Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

CNO Financial Group raised its 2026 operating earnings guidance to $4.60–$4.80 per diluted share, an 8% midpoint increase, after second-quarter operating EPS climbed 45% year over year to $1.26. Sales growth was broad-based: total new annualized premiums rose 7%, driven by a 52% increase in Medicare Supplement sales and 29% growth in Worksite life and health premiums. Annuity and brokerage assets also reached record levels. Favorable underwriting, higher investment income and disciplined capital management supported results. CNO returned $77 million to shareholders, including $60 million in buybacks, while maintaining a strong 377% risk-based capital ratio.

CNO Financial Group NYSE: CNO reported stronger second-quarter results, citing broad sales growth, favorable underwriting and higher investment income, while raising its full-year operating earnings outlook. Operating earnings per diluted share rose 45% year over year to $1.26, excluding significant items, Chief Executive Officer Gary Bhojwani said on the company’s second-quarter 2026 earnings call. Year-to-date operating earnings per share increased 43%, excluding significant items. The insurer raised its 2026 operating earnings per share guidance to a range of $4.60 to $4.80, an 8% increase at the midpoint from its prior outlook. Chief Financial Officer Paul McDonough said the company also narrowed its projected expense ratio range to 18.8% to 19.0%, lowering the high end by 20 basis points, while reaffirming its other full-year guidance measures. Get CNO Financial Group alerts: Sign Up

Total new annualized premiums increased 7% during the quarter, and Bhojwani said the company recorded multiple sales records. CNO marked its 16th consecutive quarter of sales growth and its 14th consecutive quarter of growth in producing agent count. In the Consumer Division, total health new annualized premiums, or NAP, climbed 17%. Supplemental health NAP rose 5%, long-term care increased 4%, and Medicare Supplement NAP jumped 52%, marking the third straight quarter of growth above 50% in that category. Bhojwani said results have benefited from a shift in consumer preferences from Medicare Advantage plans toward Medicare Supplement coverage. Total Medicare policies sold increased 12%. “Medicare remains a flagship door-opening product for CNO,” Bhojwani said, adding that it supports efforts to expand the number of households served by the company. Life NAP in the Consumer Division declined 9%, primarily due to lower direct-to-consumer sales against a strong prior-year comparison. Bhojwani said CNO is taking a measured approach to its direct-to-consumer channel and continues to shift away from television advertising. Web, digital and third-party partner channels accounted for nearly 72% of direct-to-consumer life sales during the quarter. Meanwhile, annuity collected premiums reached a record $536 million, up 3%, while annuity account values rose 7%. Brokerage and advisory client assets increased 24% to a record level, and total accounts rose 13%. Combined annuity account values and brokerage and advisory client assets exceeded $19 billion, up 11%. In the Worksite Division, life and health NAP reached a record and increased 29%. Life sales rose 44%, hospital indemnity sales increased 33%, accident sales gained 31%, and critical illness sales rose 7%. NAP from new Worksite clients increased 84%, with growth balanced between geographic expansion and deeper penetration of existing markets, according to Bhojwani. Producing agent count in the division rose 6%, its 16th consecutive quarter of growth. The company’s career agency distribution channel generated about 90% of Worksite insurance sales.