Lincoln Financial — Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Summary

Financial Performance:

• Net income available to common stockholders was $1.3 billion ($6.77 per diluted share) for the quarter, compared to $411 million ($2.12 per share) in the prior-year quarter.
• Adjusted operating income available to common stockholders was $339 million ($1.72 per diluted share), down from $397 million ($2.04 per share) in the prior-year quarter.
• Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, was $2.56 billion ($12.42 per diluted share), compared to $423 million ($1.87 per share) in the prior-year period.
• Adjusted operating income for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, was $1.1 billion ($5.61 per diluted share), compared to $1.1 billion ($6.01 per share) in the prior-year period.
• Holding company available liquidity increased to $1.0 billion (net of prefunding amounts), up approximately $350 million since year-end 2025.
• Book value per share excluding AOCI was $84.05 as of September 30, 2026, compared to $69.66 as of September 30, 2025.
• Adjusted book value per share was $80.63 as of September 30, 2026, compared to $74.23 as of September 30, 2025.
• The company reported a net unrealized loss of $12.4 billion (pre-tax) on available-for-sale securities as of September 30, 2026, compared to $7.9 billion (pre-tax) as of September 30, 2025.

Business Segments and Product Lines:

• Annuities: Operating income was $304 million, up 6% sequentially. Total sales were $4.3 billion, up 21% sequentially, with fixed annuity sales more than doubling quarter over quarter. Spread-based products represented 67% of total sales. Net outflows were approximately $2.7 billion. Average account balances were $181 billion, up 6% year over year.
• Life Insurance: Operating income was $130 million, up $76 million year over year, excluding the impact of the annual assumption review. Total sales were $106 million, down 64% year over year, though core life sales grew 3% year over year. Average account balances were $53 billion, up 11% year over year.
• Group Protection: Operating income was $77 million (excluding assumption review impact), down $33 million year over year. The operating margin was 5.5%, down 260 basis points year over year. Insurance premiums increased 3% year over year, led by local markets growth of 5% and supplemental health growth of 32%.
• Retirement Plan Services: Operating income was $55 million, up 20% year over year. Net outflows were $1.9 billion, compared to $755 million of net inflows in the prior-year quarter. Total deposits were $3.5 billion, down 29% year over year. Ending account balances were $128 billion, up 4% year over year.

Management Commentary and Tone:

• Ellen Cooper, Chairman, President and CEO, stated that the diversified earnings base continues to support performance, highlighting strong year-over-year earnings growth in Life Insurance and Retirement Plan Services.
• Management noted that the reinsurance transaction with Talcott, closed in October, marked a final milestone in the 2023 plan, further de-risking the balance sheet.
• Management expressed confidence in driving disciplined, profitable growth, increasing free cash flow, and creating long-term value for shareholders.
• The tone indicated resilience in the business mix despite Group Protection falling short of expectations due to normalization of disability incidence and volatility in claims severity.

Other Key Points:

• The company resumed share repurchases with $50 million of common stock.
• The company retired $437 million of preferred stock through tender offers.
• The difference between net income and adjusted operating income was primarily attributable to the non-economic impact of changes in market risk benefits.
• The annual assumption review had a net unfavorable impact of $0.47 per diluted share on net income and $0.48 per diluted share on adjusted operating income for the quarter.
• Total sales for the quarter included a 21% sequential increase in Annuities driven by fixed annuity sales and a 64% year-over-year decrease in Life Insurance sales due to large executive benefits cases in the prior year.
• The Group Protection segment experienced a 6 percentage point increase in the disability loss ratio year over year.