Arch Capital Q2 2026: EPS beat, underwriting slips
Arch Capital's second quarter was a bottom-line beat with a softer underwriting engine. Operating earnings of $2.56 a share topped the $2.48 consensus, and net income available to common shareholders of $1.047 billion produced an 18.0% return on average common equity. The catch: net premiums earned fell 8.1% to $3.985 billion and the combined ratio excluding catastrophes and prior-year reserve moves worsened to 82.5%.
1 · Expected vs. Actual
Free preview belowDiluted GAAP EPS was $3.00, down from $3.23 a year ago, while after-tax operating EPS of $2.56 beat the $2.48 consensus but slipped from $2.58. The profit conversion was still strong: an 18.0% annualized return on average common equity, against 22.9% a year earlier. The gap between the $3.00 GAAP figure and the $2.56 operating figure is mostly $196 million of equity-method investment income and $32 million of transaction costs.
Reported revenue of $4.668 billion is down 10.5% from the $5.213 billion booked in last year's second quarter, and the entire drop is investment noise: a $229 million realized gain a year ago became a $17 million loss this quarter. The headline figure is broader than the three underwriting businesses, which add up to $3.985 billion of net premiums earned, and that premium line fell 8.1%. Note the comparison quirk in the data: the $4.337 billion printed as prior-year revenue is last year's net premiums earned, not last year's total revenue.
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Figures on this page come from the company's original SEC filings. The analysis is generated automatically and checked against validation rules, but may still contain errors or omissions. Not investment advice. · Generated 2026-09-17
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