Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) Earnings & Analysis

Latest quarter

Equitable reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.70 for Q2 FY2026, above the consensus of $1.66. Revenue as counted by the consensus was $3.7 billion, below the $3.8 billion estimate. Separately, Equitable reported revenue of $1.7 billion, down from $2.4 billion a year earlier.

The company’s diluted loss per share widened to −$1.68 from −$1.21. Its filing attributed the increase in net loss in part to higher derivative losses, mainly associated with greater equity market appreciation. Equitable also reported that policyholders’ benefits fell, mainly because of its reinsurance transaction with RGA.

Non-GAAP operating earnings rose to $488 million from $352 million, according to the filing. Asset Management operating earnings increased to $158 million from $131 million, helped by higher advisory fees and distribution revenue from higher average assets under management.

Equitable reported an operating margin of −26.4%, compared with −12.8% a year earlier. Free cash flow rose to $633.0 million from $334.0 million.

Adjusted EPS is the figure the consensus estimates, not the GAAP EPS above.

What management said on the call

CEO Mark Pearson said each business had positive net flows in the second quarter. Retirement recorded $1.7 billion of net inflows, which he attributed to growth in indexed annuity sales and institutional volumes. Wealth Management had $2 billion of advisory inflows, while AllianceBernstein recorded $0.8 billion of net inflows. Pearson said the latter benefited from an Equitable sub-advisory mandate.

CFO Robin Raju said Retirement core spreads, excluding alternative investments, increased sequentially to 174 basis points. Asked about spread improvement, he attributed it to the declining share of an older annuity block and pricing discipline on new business. He said Equitable expected core spreads to remain near current levels, while higher average asset levels should help Retirement fee revenue in the third quarter.

Raju said the alternative investments portfolio produced an annualized return of slightly over 1% in the quarter, as first-quarter market declines affected private equity holdings with a lag. Asked about the outlook, he said second-quarter market returns gave him confidence in improvement in private equity, though real estate equity still faced valuation challenges. He expected to provide better guidance later as Equitable received more information from its funds.

On the Corebridge merger, Pearson said shareholders of both companies had approved the transaction and Equitable expected to close it by the end of 2026. He said federal antitrust review was complete and applications for required regulatory approvals had been filed. In response to a question about revenue synergies, Raju discussed distributing Corebridge products through Equitable Advisors and moving assets to AllianceBernstein, while noting that the companies must operate independently until closing.

Raju also said Equitable planned to invest proceeds from the announced Employee Benefits sale in its other businesses. He expected the transaction to have a neutral to slightly positive effect on near-term earnings.

Guidance

On the Q2 call, CFO Robin Raju raised the 2026 Asset Management performance-fee forecast to $115 million to $135 million from $95 million to $115 million. He said most of the benefit from the revised forecast was expected in the fourth quarter.