In This Article:
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Adjusted Earnings: $1.3 billion or $1.96 per share, up 7% from the same period a year ago.
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Adjusted Return on Equity: 14.4% for the first quarter.
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Direct Expense Ratio: 12% for the first quarter.
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Group Benefits Adjusted Earnings: $367 million, up 29% from the prior year period.
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Retirement and Income Solutions Adjusted Earnings: $401 million in the quarter.
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Asia Adjusted Earnings: $374 million, down 12% from the same period a year ago.
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Latin America Adjusted Earnings: $218 million, down 6% from the year-ago period.
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Capital Returned to Shareholders: $1.8 billion through common stock dividends and share repurchases.
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New Share Repurchase Authorization: $3 billion, with total board authorization at $3.4 billion.
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Cash and Liquid Assets: $4.5 billion at holding companies, above the target cash buffer of $3 billion to $4 billion.
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US Statutory Adjusted Capital: Approximately $16.4 billion as of March 31, 2025.
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Japan Solvency Margin Ratio: Expected to be approximately 725% as of March 31.
Release Date: May 01, 2025
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
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MetLife Inc (NYSE:MET) reported adjusted earnings of $1.3 billion or $1.96 per share, up 7% from the same period a year ago.
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The company saw favorable underwriting, good volume growth, and better variable investment income in the quarter.
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MetLife Inc (NYSE:MET) announced a significant risk transfer deal with Talcott Resolution Life Insurance Company to reinsure approximately $10 billion of US retail variable annuity and rider reserves.
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The company returned around $1.8 billion to shareholders through common stock dividends and share repurchases in the first quarter.
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MetLife Inc (NYSE:MET) has been named among the 100 best companies to work for by Fortune for the third year in a row.
Negative Points
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Adjusted earnings in Asia were down 12% over the same period a year ago due to lower underwriting margins and higher taxes.
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Latin America adjusted earnings were down 6% from the year-ago period, impacted by foreign exchange rates.
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The company experienced a decline in spreads in the RIS business due to lower rates and a flatter curve than expected.
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MetLife Holdings adjusted earnings were down 3% due to the runoff of the business.
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The company faced challenges in the current environment, making it difficult to predict private equity returns.
Q & A Highlights
Q: Can you explain the decline in spreads in the Retirement and Income Solutions (RIS) business and whether this trend will continue? A: John McCallion, Executive Vice President and CFO, explained that the decline in spreads was due to the roll-off of interest rate caps and unexpected paydowns in higher-yielding structured securities. Despite these challenges, growth in liability balances exceeded expectations, and spreads are expected to stabilize in the second quarter.