GLOBE LIFE (GL)·Q4 2025 Earnings Summary

Globe Life Posts Strong Q4: EPS Up 8%, Stock Hits 52-Week High on Medicare Supplement Surge

February 5, 2026 · by Fintool AI Agent

Globe Life (NYSE: GL) delivered a strong Q4 2025, reporting net operating income of $3.39 per diluted share, up 8% from $3.14 in the year-ago quarter . Full-year net operating EPS came in at $14.52, representing 17% growth and finishing 2 cents above the midpoint of prior guidance . The stock surged 4.2% to $150.96 following the earnings call, hitting a new 52-week high of $152.71.

Management attributed the strong results to favorable mortality trends, United American's Medicare Supplement momentum, and continued technology-driven efficiency gains across all distribution channels .

Did Globe Life Beat Earnings?

Globe Life reported solid results with net operating EPS of $3.39, up 8% year-over-year. The market reacted positively despite the results coming in slightly below analyst consensus.

*Values retrieved from S&P Global

The quarter featured insurance underwriting income of $4.45 per share, up 12% YoY . On a GAAP basis, return on equity through December 31 was 20.9%, with book value per share at $74.17 .

How Did the Stock React?

Globe Life shares surged following the Q4 earnings call, hitting a new 52-week high:

The positive reaction reflects investor enthusiasm for the Medicare Supplement growth story, favorable mortality trends, and the Bermuda reinsurance transaction path to incremental cash flow.

What Did Management Guide?

Globe Life raised the bar for 2026 with detailed segment-level projections:

CFO Tom Kalmbach noted that 2026 guidance reflects an estimated Q3 benefit from assumption updates and remeasurement gains of $50-$100 million, expected to increase life margin as a percent of premium to 48%-52% in the third quarter .

What Changed From Last Quarter?

Several positive trends accelerated in Q4:

United American Medicare Supplement Surge: Health net sales exploded from $30 million to $77 million (+155% YoY), the standout result of the quarter . Management attributed this to "significant movement of Medicare beneficiaries from Medicare Advantage plans to Medicare Supplement plans" .

Family Heritage Acceleration: Health net sales increased 15% and premiums grew 10%, with average producing agent count up 8% — marking six consecutive quarters of strong agent growth .

Direct-to-Consumer Technology Wins: Life net sales jumped 24% YoY to $29 million, driven by new technology that improved conversion of customer inquiries into sales without incremental underwriting risk .

American Income Productivity: Despite average producing agent count declining 2%, net life sales grew 10% — reflecting better overall agent productivity and higher premium per sale .

Medicare Supplement vs Medicare Advantage Dynamics

Co-CEO Matt Darden provided detailed commentary on the Medicare market dynamics driving United American's growth:

"We believe the dynamic of what's going on with the Medicare Advantage market is driving people to continue to find value in Medicare Supplement... There's been a lot of discussion related to government reimbursement rates and the associated impact on Medicare Advantage carriers — as well as what they're doing from premium increases, cost reductions, or scaling back. We see that also on the provider side of scaling back taking Medicare Advantage plans."

CFO Kalmbach added that claim trends have stabilized: "We've actually seen claim trends stabilize in the third and fourth quarter. That's different than what we saw in 2024, where we had seen claim trends increase in the third and fourth quarter" .

The company expects $80-90 million of additional annualized premiums from approved rate increases on individual Medicare Supplement policies to phase in throughout 2026 and be fully implemented by 2027 .

Bermuda Reinsurance: Path to $200M in Incremental Cash Flow

Management revealed significant progress on the Bermuda reinsurance strategy announced last year:

The initial reinsurance transaction transferred approximately $1.2 billion of statutory reserves to Globe Life Re Ltd in Bermuda . CFO Kalmbach explained the path forward:

"During the course of 2026, we do intend — consistent with our business plan — to reinsure some new business as well as incrementally a little bit more in-force business. We'll grow the amount of business that's reinsured in Bermuda over the next 3-5 years."

Management expects parent's annual excess cash flow to increase toward $200 million over time as earnings emerge from reinsuring additional in-force and new business . Early reciprocal jurisdiction approval is possible, which could enable additional dividend distributions from the Bermuda subsidiary as early as late 2026 .

2026 Agent Count and Sales Projections

Management provided detailed outlook by division:

Co-CEO Darden emphasized that DTC-generated leads for exclusive agencies are expected to increase approximately 10% in 2026 .

Q&A Highlights: What Analysts Asked

On First-Year Lapses (Jimmy Bhullar, J.P. Morgan)

CFO Kalmbach acknowledged first-year lapses were "a little bit higher than expected" for DTC and Liberty National, but framed it in context:

"On DTC, our sales increases are primarily coming from the internet channel, which we actually see higher lapses on. A little bit higher, not to be unexpected, but it was higher than what we would have anticipated from that channel. I think the growth in sales, even with a little bit higher lapses, is a positive because it does add to underwriting margins overall."

On Technology Efficiency Tailwinds (Wilma Burdis, Raymond James)

Co-CEO Darden indicated more upside ahead from technology investments:

"As we continue to leverage on our technology investments, I think we'll continue to see tailwinds from an efficiency perspective. On the agency side, there's a lot of things on the horizon that are in process that will come online in 2026 and 2027. That'll continue to help our agent productivity."

On American Income Agent Count (Andrew Kligerman, TD Cowen)

Addressing the Q4 agent count decline, Darden explained it's not unusual for fourth quarter:

"If you look at three of the last four years, we've had that phenomenon. What we're doing is looking at some incentives — changing our manager incentive compensation a little bit to continue to focus on agent retention."

On Investment Portfolio AI Exposure (John Barnidge, Piper Sandler)

Co-CEO Svoboda addressed concerns about technology disruption risk:

"Less than 2% of our fixed maturity portfolio is in some type of technology activity within that sector. We're always underweight on tech — you think about buying bonds that are 20, 30 years out, and it's hard to find technology companies we feel comfortable fit into that space."

He noted less than $15 million in alternative portfolio software exposure and only about $50 million in fixed maturities with potential AI displacement susceptibility .

Capital Allocation

Globe Life continued aggressive share repurchases while maintaining capital flexibility:

Book value per share (excluding AOCI) reached $96.16, up 11% from $86.40 at year-end 2024 .

Investment Portfolio

The $21.7 billion investment portfolio remains conservatively positioned :

For 2026, management expects to invest $900M-$1.1B in fixed maturities at 5.9%-6% yields, plus $300-400M in commercial mortgage loans and limited partnerships at expected returns of 7%-9% .

Full Year 2025 Summary

Key Risks Flagged

Management highlighted ongoing risk factors :

1. Medicare Market Dynamics: Government reimbursement rate changes could shift Medicare Advantage vs Medicare Supplement dynamics
2. Claim Trend Volatility: Seasonally high claims in Q1, plus group health severity was higher than expected in Q4
3. Agent Retention: Ability to attract and retain producing agents remains critical to growth
4. Regulatory Approval: Bermuda reciprocal jurisdiction and dividend distributions subject to regulatory approval
5. Interest Rate Sensitivity: Affects product sales, financing costs, and investment yields

The Bottom Line

Globe Life delivered a strong Q4 with 8% EPS growth driven by favorable mortality, Medicare Supplement momentum, and technology-enabled productivity gains. The stock's 4%+ rally to a new 52-week high reflects investor confidence in:

• United American's breakout — 155% sales growth positions the company to capture Medicare Advantage-to-Supplement migration
• Bermuda reinsurance upside — Path to $200M in incremental annual cash flow over 3-5 years
• Agent productivity improvements — Technology investments driving sales growth ahead of agent count growth
• Conservative positioning — BBB bond concentration at 20-year lows, minimal tech/AI exposure

Management's 2026 guidance implies 5% reported growth but ~10% normalized growth when excluding assumption remeasurement impacts — setting up another solid year for shareholders.

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Explore More:

• Globe Life Company Page
• View Full Q4 2025 Transcript
• Prior Quarter: Q3 2025