Brown & Brown’s organic revenue grew 1.2% in the third quarter, a recovery from a decline in the previous quarter but well below the 3.5% the broker posted a year earlier. CEO Powell Brown pointed to a challenging rate environment.
Total revenues rose 7.4% to $1.7 billion for the quarter ended September 30, mainly reflecting acquisitions, the company said on October 26. Including contingent commissions, organic revenue grew 1.5%.
“The third quarter reflected the incredible efforts of our teammates to win more customers in spite of a challenging rate environment,” Brown said.
The third-quarter figure follows a 0.7% decline in organic revenue in the second quarter. For the first nine months of 2026, organic revenue grew just 0.3%, compared with 4.6% in the same period of 2025.
On its second-quarter call in July, management said its specialty distribution business had been hurt by pricing pressure in catastrophe property and casualty lines, and by about $10 million of delayed new business revenue from one program that it expected to record largely in the third quarter. The company’s organic revenue reconciliation also shows a $16 million litigation-related deduction in the third quarter and $44 million over nine months.
Net income attributable to the company rose 5.7% to $240 million. Diluted earnings per share slipped 1.5% to $0.67, while adjusted diluted earnings per share rose 1.9% to $1.07.
Adjusted EBITDAC rose 1.7% to $597 million, but the adjusted EBITDAC margin fell to 34.6% from 36.6%. The prior-year quarter was boosted by about $29 million of interest income on capital raised ahead of the Accession acquisition, which the company notes in its results.
The Accession acquisition, the parent of Risk Strategies and One80 Intermediaries, closed just over a year ago. Brown said it brought about 5,000 new employees and broadened the company’s capabilities. Over nine months, total revenues rose 23.4% to $5.3 billion, largely reflecting the deal.
The company also returned capital to shareholders. It bought back $750 million of its own shares and paid $169 million in dividends during the first nine months. Long-term debt stood at $7.3 billion at the end of September.
Brown & Brown’s results show how softer pricing, particularly in catastrophe property, is affecting even the largest brokers. When rates stop rising, commission growth has to come from new business and exposure growth, which is harder to deliver.
For mid-sized brokers, the results are a reminder that the double-digit organic growth of recent years was partly driven by the hard market, and that 2027 budgets may need more modest assumptions.
