Principal Q3 2026: headline EPS beat, operating earnings miss
Principal's third-quarter GAAP EPS of $2.91 beat the $2.44 consensus, but the beat came from exited-business swings, not operations: non-GAAP operating EPS was $2.22, below consensus. Read the operating earnings line first, then the five segment lines — the reported $4.62 billion top line is more than half items outside segment revenue.
1 · Expected vs. Actual
Free preview belowGAAP EPS of $2.91 against a $2.44 consensus looks like a large beat, but $1.27 per share of it is income from exited business, including an $818.2 million fair-value gain on the funds withheld embedded derivative. Strip that out and operating EPS was $2.22, roughly $0.22 short of consensus and still 6.0% above the prior-year quarter. Excluding significant variances, operating EPS was $2.49, up 7.0%.
Reported revenue was $4.62 billion, up 25.4% from $3.68 billion a year earlier, but the five segment revenue lines only add up to $2.47 billion. The $2.15 billion gap is investment income, fair-value moves and other consolidated items, so the top line is a poor growth gauge. Segment growth was modest: Retirement and Income Solutions net revenue rose 1.0% and Investment Management revenue less pass-through expenses fell 2.0%.
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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 2026-11-03
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