Brighthouse Financial Inc (NASDAQ:BHF) Reports Mixed Q3 2025 Results

Brighthouse Financial Inc (NASDAQ:BHF) reported financial results for the third quarter of 2025, delivering a mixed performance against analyst expectations. The company's key profitability metric surpassed estimates, while revenue fell short of projections, resulting in a muted market response following the announcement.

Earnings and Revenue Performance

The insurer's adjusted earnings, which exclude certain market volatility, came in at $4.54 per share when excluding notable items. This figure notably exceeded the analyst consensus estimate of $5.11 per share for the quarter. However, the company reported revenues of $2.171 billion, falling short of the $2.297 billion that analysts had projected.

Key financial highlights from the quarter include:

• Adjusted earnings of $970 million, or $16.87 per diluted share
• Net income available to shareholders of $453 million, compared to $150 million in the prior year period
• Book value per common share of $81.60, up from $63.94 a year earlier
• Annuity sales of $2.73 billion, representing an 8% increase year-over-year

Market Reaction and Price Action

Following the earnings release, Brighthouse Financial shares showed moderate positive momentum across multiple timeframes:

• After-market performance: +1.08%
• One-week performance: +0.44%
• Two-week performance: +0.40%
• One-month performance: +0.36%

The steady but modest gains suggest investors are cautiously optimistic about the company's results, particularly the stronger-than-expected earnings performance, while possibly discounting the revenue miss given the nature of the insurance business where premium recognition timing can affect quarterly revenue figures.

Business Segment Performance

The company's operations showed varied results across its business segments. The Annuities segment, which represents the company's core business, generated adjusted earnings of $304 million, down from $327 million in the same quarter last year. This segment saw record sales of Shield Level Annuities, helping drive an 8% increase in total annuity sales year-over-year.

The Life segment showed significant improvement, posting adjusted earnings of $40 million compared to an adjusted loss of $25 million in the third quarter of 2024. Life sales increased 27% year-over-year, indicating strong growth in this business line.

The Run-off segment delivered substantial earnings of $641 million, boosted by favorable notable items related to actuarial reviews. Corporate & Other reported an adjusted loss of $15 million.

Capital and Strategic Developments

Brighthouse Financial maintained a strong capital position, with an estimated combined risk-based capital ratio between 435% and 455%, placing it at the upper end of the company's target range of 400% to 450% under normal market conditions. The company ended the quarter with holding company liquid assets of $1.0 billion.

Notably, the company canceled its earnings conference call due to a previously announced transaction with Aquarian Capital. CEO Eric Steigerwalt commented that the company "delivered solid results in the quarter as we continued to execute our strategy," highlighting record sales of Shield annuity products and the completion of the separation of legacy VA and first-generation Shield business.

Forward Outlook and Analyst Expectations

Looking ahead, analysts project continued performance for Brighthouse Financial, with estimates for the fourth quarter of 2025 standing at $2.307 billion in sales and $5.19 in revenue. For the full year 2025, analysts anticipate sales of $8.943 billion and revenue of $17.859 billion.

The company noted that it expects to remain within its combined RBC ratio target range at year-end 2025 without needing to contribute additional capital to its insurance subsidiaries, indicating confidence in its current capital position.

For more detailed earnings information and future estimates, readers can view additional data on the Brighthouse Financial earnings page.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult with financial advisors before making investment decisions.