Ryan Specialty swung to a first-quarter profit and beat Wall Street estimates, but the international specialty insurance firm trimmed its full-year organic growth guidance to mid-single digits.
This downward revision brings its results closer to peer benchmarks as the broader excess and surplus (E&S) market shows clearer signs of deceleration.
Revenue rose 15.2% year on year to $795.2 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, up from $690.2 million. Organic revenue growth came in at 11.8%, down from 12.9% a year earlier, with management citing new client wins, expanded relationships, acquisition contributions and higher contingent commissions.
Net income swung to $40.6 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, from a loss of $4.4 million. Adjusted EBITDAC rose 15.7% to $232.0 million, with the margin edging up to 29.2% from 29.1%. Adjusted diluted earnings per share climbed 20.5% to $0.47, beating analyst estimates by 8.7%.
The mid-single-digit organic growth target – down from earlier high-single-digit guidance – now sits broadly in line with rivals. Aon has guided to mid-single digits or better and Arthur J. Gallagher signaled around 5.5%, after flagging four consecutive quarters of decelerating broker organic growth tied to softening commercial property rates.
By contrast, Brown & Brown's Q1 total revenues jumped 35.4% but Organic Revenue with Contingents rose just 2.2%, with acquisitions contributing $435 million – leaving Ryan Specialty's print among the strongest in the wholesale and brokerage cohort.
Operating expenses rose 18.8% to $700.6 million, reflecting higher compensation, restructuring charges tied to the newly launched Empower Program, and increased professional services and IT costs.
The pricing backdrop has shifted sharply. Marsh's Q1 data showed global commercial insurance rates down 5%, led by a 9% drop in property, even as US excess casualty climbed 18%.
S&P Global Market Intelligence reports US domestic E&S direct premiums written reached $105.31 billion in 2025, up 7.8% – the first time the segment crossed $100 billion, but also the first single-digit annual growth rate in six years, well off the 13.4% recorded in 2024. Commercial property E&S premiums fell 2.8% to $27.7 billion, the first decline since 2017.
AM Best had already revised its outlook for the US E&S segment from positive to stable in November 2025, an earlier shift flagging moderating premium growth and early rate softening.
Ryan Specialty returned roughly $64.8 million to shareholders, including $40.0 million for share repurchases and $24.8 million in dividends.
Founder and Executive Chairman Patrick G. Ryan called it "a strong start to 2026" against "continued and increasing industry headwinds."
For the full year, Ryan Specialty expects an adjusted EBITDAC margin 100 to 150 basis points below 2025 levels.
