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PFG US S&P 500Russell 1000 Earnings call · transcribed from the recording

Principal Financial Group (PFG) · Q3 2026 results and valuation

Share price: $114.69 · 2026-11-11

Principal Financial Group provides financial products and services, including retirement, asset management, and workplace benefits and protection solutions. The company serves institutional clients, businesses, and individual investors in the United States and international markets. Source: 10-K annual report (2026-02-18)

Results Q3 2026 vs Q1 2026 · previous quarter · published 26 Oct 2026 and 24 Apr 2026

Management sounded upbeat, though noticeably less so answering analysts.

⚠️ The latest available report (Q3_2026) is more than six months after the previous one (Q1_2026). The comparison is against a stale baseline.

1 · Numbers

—

Figures not yet filed

Outlook given

2 · How management spoke

Upbeat

More upbeat than 84% of company calls

Answers to analysts: typical, but clearly less so than the script.

The step down under questioning is smaller than last call.

3 · What stood out

Principal Financial Group completed an acquisition on September 1st that added more than 26,000 small business customers and a digital-first cloud-native platform.

Valuation

Is Principal Financial Group undervalued?

Reverse DCF on net income from the last full fiscal year (no meaningful free cash flow: a bank, insurer or a year of negative cash flow) (2025-12-31), grown for 10 years, discounted back, plus a terminal value. “Implied growth” is the rate the current price assumes.

At −3.8% growth a year (3-year revenue growth), the model's fair value is $47.95 a share — the stock trades 139% above it. Today's price assumes 8.3% growth a year.

Current price

$114.69

close of 2026-11-11

Market implies growth of iThe yearly free-cash-flow growth, for the next 10 years, that today’s share price already assumes. If you believe the company grows faster than this, the stock is cheap under this model; slower, and it is expensive.

+8.3% for 10 yrs

Fair value / share

$47.95

Buy below

$35.96

Price vs fair value

Overvalued 139%

Price vs buy-below price

Overvalued >200%

Management expects

Earnings +12% · from the Q3 2026 report: “Adjusted non-GAAP earnings per share increased 12% year-to-date at the high end of the target range, including 7% growth in the third quarter compared to the…”

A guidance figure for earnings, usually one year ahead, not a 10-year free-cash-flow rate.

Official channels

The company's own website and social media accounts.

Read between the lines

  1. Guidance

    Adjusted non-GAAP earnings per share increased 12% year-to-date at the high end of the target range, including 7% growth in the third quarter compared to the prior year.

  2. Figure

    Roll-ins reached $1.8 billion for the quarter and $7.4 billion over the trailing 12 months, increasing by 9% and 15% respectively.

    Source quote
    “In the quarter, we had $1.8 billion of roll-ins and $7.4 billion over the trailing 12 months, up 9% and 15% respectively.”
  3. Figure

    In retirement, SMB transfer deposits increased 21% and recurring deposits increased 7% year-over-year, reflecting the attractive value proposition of the company's solutions for this market segment.

    Source quote
    “In retirement, SMB transfer deposits increased 21% and recurring deposits increased 7% year-over-year, reflecting the attractive value proposition of our solutions for this market segment.”
  4. Figure

    Adjusted pre-tax operating earnings for life turned to $39 million, a 29% increase from the prior year because of improved mortality experience from lower frequency and severity.

    Source quote
    “Turning to life, adjusted pre-tax operating earnings were $39 million, a 29% increase from the prior year, driven by improved mortality experience due to lower frequency and severity.”
  5. Figure

    The acquisition completed on September 1st added more than 26,000 small business customers and a digital-first cloud-native platform to the company's operations.

    Source quote
    “On September 1st, we completed this acquisition, adding more than 26,000 small business customers and a digital-first cloud-native platform.”
4 more
  1. Figure

    Private markets generated $800 million of positive net cash flow and active ETFs generated positive $500 million during the quarter.

    Source quote
    “Private markets generated $800 million of positive net cash flow during the quarter, and active ETFs generated positive $500 million.”
  2. Figure

    PFG ended the third quarter with more than $1.5 billion of excess and available capital, positioning the company in a strong position regarding capital and liquidity.

    Source quote
    “Turning to capital and liquidity, we ended the quarter in a strong position with more than $1.5 billion of excess and available capital.”
  3. Figure

    PFG announced an $0.85 per share dividend payable in the fourth quarter.

    Source quote
    “Last night, we announced an $0.85 per share dividend payable in the fourth quarter.”
  4. Figure

    Recurring deposits increased by 8% to nearly $13 billion due to record client retention and stable withdrawal rates.

    Source quote
    “This quarter has strong underlying fundamentals, including record client retention and stable withdrawal rates, with recurring deposits up 8% to nearly $13 billion.”

Tone

How upbeat the language was, compared with other companiesiTone counts positive minus negative finance words, adjusted for length. Executives mostly speak positively, so the labels compare each call with every company's latest call: “typical” is the middle third, “very upbeat” the top tenth, “cautious” the bottom tenth.. Dot: Q3 2026. Ring: Q1 2026.

Prepared remarks Upbeat (was very upbeat)
Answers to analysts Typical (was typical)

Management sounded noticeably less positive answering analysts than in its prepared script — a bigger drop than in 87% of calls. Scripts are polished in advance; a drop under questioning often marks the topics analysts pressed on, so the answers deserve a closer read than the script.

Sentences that drove the tone
“Adjusted non-GAAP year-to-date pre-tax operating earnings increased 10%, supported by 5% net revenue growth and 120 basis points of margin expansion.”
“In specialty benefits, sales grew 10% from the prior year quarter and 15% over the trailing 12 months, contributing to a third consecutive quarter of sequential premium growth improvement.”
“Today, our focus on the retirement ecosystem, small and mid-sized businesses, and global asset management reflects where we're best positioned to win, and we'll continue investing in these areas to...”

Full figures

Q3 2026 figures are not available yet: the company files its quarterly report (10-Q) a few weeks after the call. This page compares what management said; the figures are added when the report is filed.

Topics

Most discussed now

  • New Principal Financial thinks that organic growth is the primary path to achieving its objectives, but it will continue to be inquisitive...
  • This was primarily driven by higher revenue and disciplined expense management in RIS, improved mortality experience in life, and growth...
  • When you actually look at its block, and Principal Financial did give you some of that in the prepared comments as...
  • It offered a clear capability that accelerated an existing growth priority, and those would be examples of things Principal Financial…

Faded since Q1 2026

  • Dropped I'd say, from a run rate perspective to your question, it was a little bit outsized this quarter because of...
  • Dropped One of the reasons why Principal Financial did have the results it did this first quarter was because there was no...
  • Fading This reflects Principal Financial's disciplined focus on profitable revenue growth and expense management as well as some favorable…
  • Fading The improvement was driven by positive net cash flow and international pension...

Latest announcements

Official filings, newest first. Summaries are generated from each filing and its attachment; every figure is checked against the source.

  • Results of operations · SEC 8-K

    Principal Financial Group reported non-GAAP operating earnings per diluted share of $2.49 in the third quarter of 2026, which increased 7% over the prior year quarter.

  • Regulation FD disclosure · SEC 8-K

    As of September 30, 2026, Principal Financial Group reported assets under management of $785.0 billion, including $581.7 billion managed by Principal Asset Management - Investment Management and $166.2 billion by Principal Asset Management - International Pension.

  • Material agreement; New financial obligation · SEC 8-K

    Principal Financial Group, Inc. entered into an Amended and Restated Five-Year Credit Facility with a borrowing limit of up to $900,000,000, which can be increased to $1,300,000,000.

  • Results of operations · SEC 8-K

    Principal Financial Group reported non-GAAP operating earnings per diluted share of $2.50 for the second quarter of 2026, an increase of 16% compared to the same period in 2025.

  • Regulation FD disclosure · SEC 8-K

    As of June 30, 2026, Principal Financial Group reported assets under management of $808.0 billion, including $601.9 billion managed by Principal Asset Management - Investment Management and $168.5 billion by Principal Asset Management - International Pension.

  • Material agreement; New financial obligation; Other events · SEC 8-K

    On June 1, 2026, Principal Financial Group, Inc. issued $400,000,000 of its 5.300% Senior Notes due 2037, which are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Principal Financial Services, Inc.

  • Shareholder vote results · SEC 8-K · routine
  • Results of operations · SEC 8-K

    Principal Financial Group reported non-GAAP operating earnings per diluted share of $2.17 in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of 13% compared to the same period in the prior year.

Balance sheet & ownership

From SEC filings; short interest is FINRA data via Yahoo. Collected 2026-10-28.

Cash & runway

Cash & equivalents

$4.05B

2026-03-31

Implied runway

—

operating cash flow positive over the TTM window

Dilution

weighted-average basic shares, per quarter. Change: -3.8% YoY.

QuarterShares
Q2 2024233.8M
Q3 2024230.7M
Q1 2025225.7M
Q2 2025224.1M
Q3 2025222.4M
Q1 2026217.2M

Insider transactions

Form 4 open-market trades (codes S/P), trailing 12 months. Coverage: newest 50 of 139 filings; 50 filings parsed.

Sold by insiders

10.7K shares

$1.1M · 2 transactions

Bought by insiders

0 shares

0 transactions

Net direction

net selling

Catalyst calendar

management-stated targets — from the latest earnings call; plans, not promises.

  1. near-term

    pressure on active equity flows

    Source quote
    “Active equity flows remain challenged across the industry, and we expect near-term pressure to continue.”
  2. full-year

    capital employment target

    Source quote
    “Capital employment totaled more than $1.2 billion year-to-date, and we are well-positioned to deliver on our full-year target of $1.5 to $1.8 billion.”
  3. fourth quarter

    dividend payment

    Source quote
    “Last night, we announced an $0.85 per share dividend payable in the fourth quarter.”
  4. early 2027

    repapering to drive value

    Source quote
    “While the acquired block is currently operating at a modest loss, integration plans are on track and repapering will begin to drive value in early 2027.”
  5. full year

    corporate segment results

    Source quote
    “Given year-to-date results, we expect to come in at or above the high end of our range for the full year.”

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