Unum shares fall 9.9% after hours despite in-line Q3 profit

Unum (UNM) shares fell 9.9% in after-hours trading as of 5:33 p.m. ET, from a regular-session close of $91.05. The company said on Nov. 3 that its third-quarter adjusted profit was $2.20 per diluted share, in line with the $2.19 consensus estimate. Revenue of $2.55 billion missed the $2.99 billion estimate.

The company posted a net loss of $419.7 million, or $2.65 per diluted share, against net income of $39.7 million a year earlier. The loss reflects a $853.0 million net investment loss, mostly impairments tied to moving assets for its 2026 reinsurance transaction with Fortitude Re.

Unum sells disability, life, accident, critical illness, dental and vision insurance through its Unum and Colonial Life brands, according to its press release. The company said it paid $8.3 billion in benefits in 2025.

Here's how the company did:

• Adjusted EPS: $2.20 per diluted share vs. $2.81 a year earlier, $2.19 expected
• GAAP EPS: net loss of $2.65 per diluted share vs. net income of $0.23 a year earlier
• Revenue: $2.55 billion vs. $3.38 billion a year earlier, $2.99 billion expected

Premium income rose 4.2% to $2.80 billion, and rose 4.7% in constant currency, according to the company. The company expects the coinsurance agreement tied to the Fortitude Re transaction to be executed in November 2026.

CEO Richard P. McKenney said the quarter “reflected continued good premium growth and strong customer retention across our employee benefits portfolio.” He added, “Our underlying earnings results did fall short of our expectations with very good performance in our voluntary benefits businesses being offset by elevated claim submissions in group disability.”

Segment results

Unum US adjusted operating income fell 35.2% to $315.3 million from $486.8 million a year earlier. Within that segment, group disability income dropped 60.4% to $94.8 million, and its benefit ratio rose to 67.1% from 47.8%.

Colonial Life adjusted operating income rose 35.0% to $169.4 million from $125.5 million. Unum International fell to $0.2 million from $44.2 million. The Closed Block segment posted an adjusted operating loss of $135.6 million.

2026 guidance

The company now expects full-year 2026 after-tax adjusted operating income of $8.30 to $8.50 per share, including about $0.33 from a notable item. It gave a range of $8.60 to $8.90 per share on July 28. The company said it revised its definition of adjusted operating income after discussions with the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and that the revision does not affect GAAP net income.

Net income has risen in each of the last three quarters, from $39.7 million in the third quarter of 2025 to $256.9 million in the second quarter of 2026, according to its SEC filings.

Capital returns

Unum repurchased 2.1 million shares for $202.0 million in the quarter and paid $80.1 million in common stock dividends. Year-to-date capital return reached $1.04 billion. Holding company liquidity stood at $1.38 billion at Sept. 30, and the weighted average risk-based capital ratio for its traditional U.S. insurance companies was about 485%.

Book value per common share was $68.90 at Sept. 30, up from $64.56 a year earlier.