Corebridge Financial Inc. said operating earnings per share rose 27% to $1.22 in the third quarter, even as premiums and deposits fell 29%, with its merger with Equitable Holdings Inc. still awaiting regulatory approval.
The retirement and insurance provider reported results on Monday. Net income available to common shareholders was $1.44 billion, or $3.22 per share, compared with $144 million, or $0.27 per share, a year earlier. The company said the change largely reflected favorable net realized gains, including Fortitude Re funds withheld embedded derivatives and fair value market risk benefits.
Adjusted after-tax operating income was $545 million, up from $520 million. Adjusted pre-tax operating income rose 4% to $677 million. Excluding variable investment income and notable items, it fell 9%. Corebridge attributed that decline to lower base spread income and higher expenses, partly offset by higher fee income. Adjusted return on average equity was 12.1%, up from 10.3%.
Premiums and deposits totaled $8.8 billion, down from $12.3 billion. Excluding transactional activity, such as pension risk transfer, guaranteed investment contracts and Group Retirement plan acquisitions, they fell 19%. Corebridge cited lower fixed index annuity sales, partly offset by higher registered index-linked annuity deposits and higher out-of-plan fixed annuity sales.
Results varied by business. Individual Retirement adjusted pre-tax operating income rose 3% to $466 million, on premiums and deposits of $4.5 billion, down from $5.5 billion. Group Retirement fell 11% to $164 million, and Life Insurance fell 32% to $17 million. Institutional Markets rose 48% to $198 million, primarily on higher variable investment income, while its premiums and deposits dropped 59% to $1.7 billion.
Corebridge returned $295 million to shareholders, including $185 million in share repurchases and $110 million in dividends. Common shares outstanding fell to 440 million from 532 million. Holding company liquidity was $2.2 billion, including $750 million of pre-funded debt maturing in April 2027. The board declared a dividend of $0.25 per share, payable Dec. 31 to shareholders of record on Dec. 17.
Corebridge and Equitable announced the all-stock merger on March 26. Under terms described in Corebridge’s quarterly filing, each Corebridge share will convert to one share of a new parent company, and each Equitable share to 1.55516 shares. Corebridge shareholders will own about 51% of the combined company. The combined company would be valued at $22 billion based on March 25 closing prices, according to industry reports.
Stockholders of both companies approved the deal on July 30. Preliminary counts in a Form 8-K showed about 99.96% of Corebridge votes cast and 97.24% of Equitable votes cast in favor.
“This vote signifies the broad stockholder support of bringing together two outstanding franchises which will serve more than 12 million customers,” said Marc Costantini, Corebridge’s president and CEO.
Costantini will lead the combined company, with Equitable CEO Mark Pearson as executive chair. The new parent will carry the Equitable name and be based in Houston.
The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close by year-end 2026. In its recent release, Corebridge said it had identified more than $100 million of expense synergies. At announcement, the companies projected more than $500 million in synergies by the end of 2028.
“We delivered the strongest annuity sales of the year, continued to build momentum in advisory and brokerage, and increased operating earnings per share by 27%,” Costantini said in the release.
Corebridge held a conference call on Tuesday.
