Greenlight Capital Re has swung to a $6.2 million underwriting profit in the first quarter of 2026, reversing a $7.8 million loss a year earlier as the absence of major catastrophe losses drove an 8.6-point improvement in the combined ratio to 96.0%.
The reinsurer's Q1 results also lifted by a 6.8% return from its Solasglas investment portfolio.
The Cayman Islands-based firm reported net income of $35.8 million, or $1.05 per diluted ordinary share, compared with $29.6 million, or $0.86 per diluted share, a year earlier. Fully diluted book value per share rose 4.7% to $21.40 from $20.43 at the end of December 2025.
The year-on-year improvement reflects a sharp drop in catastrophe losses. Q1 2025 had been hit by $27 million in California wildfire claims; Q1 2026 catastrophe-related losses came in at just $5 million, tied to a general provision Greenlight Re booked against the Middle East conflict.
The provision alone added 3.2 points to the combined ratio, meaning the underlying underwriting performance was even stronger than the headline number suggests, CFO Faramarz Romer (pictured above) told investors on the earnings call.
The Open Market segment posted a combined ratio of 94.8% – an 11.2-point improvement – while the Innovations segment came in at 102.3%, dragged by adverse prior year development in a financial lines program.
Top-line metrics moved the other way. Gross premiums written fell 8% to $227.9 million, while net premiums earned slipped 8% to $154.1 million, reflecting softening conditions across global reinsurance pricing.
Total investment income held steady at $40.4 million, with $33.7 million of that coming from Solasglas. The 6.8% Q1 return outpaced a 4.4% decline in the S&P 500, with the short portfolio contributing 5.7 points of the gain. Top contributors included long positions in gold, Acadia Healthcare, and DHT Holdings.
Solasglas Investments, LP is a Cayman Islands limited partnership established in September 2018 and managed by DME Advisors, LP, an Einhorn-controlled investment advisor, based on Greenlight Re's prior disclosures.
Under terms last amended in 2024, the partnership can hold up to 70% of the company's surplus, with DME Advisors collecting a 1.5% annual management fee and a 20% performance allocation. The fund deploys a value-oriented long-short equity strategy.
The Q1 print follows a 7.5% Solasglas gain for full-year 2025 and a 9.8% return for 2024, putting the fund roughly in line with the "10-ish%" multi-year average CEO Greg Richardson cited on the company's Q4 2025 earnings call in March.
Greenlight Re bought back $5 million of ordinary shares during the first quarter at an average cost of $16.70 per share. In April, the company repurchased an additional $9.5 million at $18.38 per share.
Einhorn pointed to the Solasglas gain during what he called "a choppy period for the market," adding that the company has maintained capital allocation discipline by repurchasing roughly 2.4% of shares through April to capture the discount on offer.
