Cannae Holdings (CNNE)·Q4 2025 Earnings Summary
Cannae Holdings Q4 2025 Earnings: Revenue Beat, But Widening Losses Sink Stock 5%
February 23, 2026 · by Fintool AI Agent
Cannae Holdings (NYSE: CNNE) reported Q4 2025 results that beat revenue expectations but delivered a significantly wider loss than analysts anticipated. Shares fell 4.7% to $12.67 on the day of the release—extending a brutal 42% decline from 52-week highs of $21.96—as investors weighed ongoing portfolio losses against management's capital return efforts.
The holding company posted total operating revenues of $103.3M and a net loss of $93M attributable to common shareholders (-$1.93 per diluted share), compared to a loss of $46.1M (-$0.74 per share) in Q4 2024. The quarter was marked by $68.4M in equity losses from unconsolidated affiliates—primarily Black Knight Football—and continued weakness in the Restaurant Group.
Did Cannae Holdings Beat Earnings?
Revenue: Beat. Cannae reported revenues of $106.9M versus consensus of $104.8M, a 2.0% beat.* However, this masks a 6% year-over-year decline from $109.9M in Q4 2024.
EPS: Massive miss. Normalized EPS came in at -$1.06 versus consensus of -$0.30—a loss nearly 3.6x larger than expected.* The widening loss was driven by:
- $68.4M equity losses from unconsolidated affiliates (vs $10.6M in Q4 2024)
- $8.2M recognized investment losses (vs $23M in prior year)
- Restaurant Group weakness with operating loss expanding
*Values retrieved from S&P Global
Ask Fintool AI AgentHow Did the Stock React?
CNNE shares dropped 4.7% on results day, closing at $12.67 after opening at $13.29. The stock hit a new 52-week low of $12.66 intraday.
The market reaction reflects ongoing frustration with the NAV discount—shares trade at just 52% of the $24.31 illustrative NAV management published. Despite aggressive share repurchases totaling $323M in 2025 (28% of outstanding shares), the discount has widened rather than narrowed.
What Changed From Last Quarter?
New Strategic Priorities. CEO Ryan Caswell outlined a significant strategic shift designed to address shareholder concerns:
- Portfolio transformation to sports/entertainment — Accelerating concentration in areas where Cannae has "differentiated competitive advantage"
- Enhanced disclosure — Broader reporting on asset-level operating results starting this quarter
- Disciplined capital return — Maintaining dividend, opportunistic buybacks
- Governance evolution — Continuous evaluation of best practices
Restaurant Group strategic alternatives. Management disclosed they are "currently exploring strategic alternatives" for the Restaurant Group (Ninety Nine Restaurant & Pub and O'Charley's), signaling a potential exit from this struggling segment.
JANA Partners ownership doubled. Cannae increased its stake in activist investor JANA Partners from 20% to 50% in September 2025, investing an additional $67.5M.
What Is Cannae Holdings' Portfolio Worth?
Management published an updated Sum of the Parts (SOTP) analysis showing illustrative NAV of $24.31 per share versus the $12.67 stock price—a 48% discount to stated value.
Largest holdings by value per CNNE share:
Key SOTP caveats: Most private holdings are Level III assets with "limited observable market activity" and marks based on last transactions or third-party valuations that "may be incorrect."
Ask Fintool AI AgentWhat Did Management Say?
CEO Ryan Caswell acknowledged shareholder frustration directly:
"Despite our accomplishments in 2025, the Board and management team are not satisfied with our stock price and believe that it does not reflect the intrinsic value of our assets or the long-term potential of the platform."
On portfolio transformation:
"We are accelerating the transformation of our portfolio to concentrate primarily on sports and entertainment-related assets, where Cannae has demonstrated a differentiated competitive advantage. We continue to benefit from access to proprietary investment opportunities in these sectors."
How Are Key Portfolio Companies Performing?
Black Knight Football (42% stake)
BKFC reported for the three months ended September 2025 (one-quarter lag):
- Revenue: $39.0M (+25% YoY)
- Net loss: $27.3M (vs $22.3M loss prior year)
- EBITDA: $10.7M (vs $4.6M)
- Adjusted EBITDA ex-player trading: -$29.6M
Notable developments:
- AFC Bournemouth sits 8th in Premier League with 38 points through 27 matches
- Generated >$400M in transfer proceeds over last 2 windows—second highest net profit in European football
- Acquired remaining 60% of FC Lorient for ~EUR 60M (stock + cash) based on 2023 put/call structure; now 9th in Ligue 2, quarterfinals of French Cup
- Stadium Phase 1 (2026/27): +1,500 seats total, +600 hospitality seats (~100% hospitality increase)
- Stadium Phase 2 (2027/28): Total capacity to 20,300 seats (~80% increase)
- Moreirense sits 7th in Primeira Liga with 33 points (10W, 3D) after 23 matches
Restaurant Group (Consolidated)
The struggling segment saw same-store sales decline:
- Ninety Nine: -1.2% Q4, -0.6% FY (outperforming -2.4%/-2.5% industry)
- O'Charley's: -13.6% Q4, -13.4% FY (significantly underperforming)
- Q4 Adjusted EBITDA: -$1.1M (vs +$1.3M prior year)
Management is "exploring strategic alternatives" for this segment.
Alight (NYSE: ALIT, 8% stake)
The HR technology company struggled in Q4:
- Revenue: $653M (-4% YoY)
- Net loss: $933M (including $803M goodwill impairment)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $178M (27.3% margin vs 31.9% prior year)
- Dividend suspended to prioritize deleveraging
Cannae's 40.5M shares are worth approximately $65M at current prices.
Capital Allocation Highlights
2025 full year accomplishments:
- Sold Dun & Bradstreet for $630M total proceeds
- Repurchased $323M of stock (28% of shares outstanding)
- Increased dividend
- Invested incremental $67.5M in JANA Partners (20% → 50%)
- Invested $50M in JANA Strategic Benchmark Fund
Balance sheet as of December 31, 2025:
- Corporate cash: $147M+ (total consolidated: $182M)
- Total assets: $1.32B
- Total equity: $991M
- Treasury stock: $1.05B (cumulative repurchases)
- Debt: $48M fixed-rate term debt (4+ years to maturity)
- Expected tax refund: $55M (summer 2026) from harvested tax losses
Ask Fintool AI AgentQ&A Highlights
On AI risk across the portfolio (Ken Lee, RBC):
"We're fortunate that our biggest investment around football... is quite a ways away from AI. In terms of the financial services and other businesses, we think most of them are very embedded with long-term contracts and in very important parts of their customers' processes. We think those are more sheltered, and they are trying to implement AI into their businesses."
On BKFC valuation framework (Ian Zaffino, Oppenheimer):
"We continue to think about where other Premier League teams have traded around 3 times [revenue]... We've tried to provide more detailed financials on Black Knight Football in particular, which will give investors more details on the financials of the business."
Management noted they issued stock at a ~12.5% premium to par value in the FC Lorient acquisition, suggesting their internal valuation methodology.
On SpaceX monetization (Ian Zaffino, Oppenheimer):
"The business has done very well since we've owned it... Given the strategic direction around sports and entertainment, it seems like it'll be a source of cash for us over time."
On JANA partnership outlook (Ken Lee, RBC):
"We remain very optimistic about our partnership with JANA... Given the strategic direction around sports and entertainment-related assets, the box is maybe a little bit smaller given the capital base that we have today."
Ask Fintool AI AgentWhat Are the Risks?
- Private holdings illiquidity — Most assets are Level III with no observable market prices and valuations that "may be incorrect"
- Restaurant Group losses — Strategic alternatives may result in realized losses on $161M invested
- BKFC cash burn — Adjusted EBITDA ex-player trading of -$29.6M per quarter requires ongoing capital
- Alight exposure — Goodwill impairment and suspended dividend signal continued challenges
- NAV discount persistence — Despite buybacks, discount has widened; market may not value SOTP approach
What's Next?
Near-term catalysts:
- Restaurant Group strategic alternatives outcome
- AFC Bournemouth Premier League season finish (currently 8th place)
- JANA Partners activist campaign outcomes (Mercury Systems, Lamb Weston, others)
- Q1 2026 earnings (expected May 2026)
Longer-term:
- Vitality Stadium renovation completion (2027/28)
- Portfolio concentration execution toward sports/entertainment
- Potential SpaceX monetization path