MetLife delivers Q3 earnings beat and revenue miss, hurt by derivatives losses

[MetLife Building in New York City]
Anne Czichos

MetLife (MET [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MET]) Q3 earnings topped the Wall Street consensus and revenue fell short of expectations on Wednesday as net investment losses and derivatives losses pressured the top line. In its operating lines, group benefits adjusted earnings increased 22% Y/Y, while retirement and income solutions adjusted earnings slipped 8%.

Q3 adjusted EPS, [https://seekingalpha.com/pr/20295523-metlife-announces-3q-2025-results] excluding total notable items, of $2.34 beat the average analyst estimate of $2.32 and increased from $1.93 in last year’s Q2.

"Adjusted earnings per share, excluding total notable items, grew 21% year-over-year, driven by strong variable investment income, broad-based volume growth, and diligent expense management," said President and CEO Michel Khalaf.

Q3 total revenue of $17.4B, missing the $18.7B consensus, fell from $18.4B in last year's Q3, driven by a larger net investment loss and $929M of derivatives losses in the current quarter, compared with a $767M gain in the year-ago period.

MetLife (MET [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MET]) stock fell 1.2% in after-hours trading.

Q3 adjusted premiums, fees, and other revenue decreased to $12.46B from $12.47B a year ago.

Adjusted net investment income of $5.44B climbed from $5.14B in Q3 2024.

Q3 adjusted ROE of 16.9% vs. 14.4% a year ago.

Expenses for the quarter totaled $16.15B, vs. $16.45B in Q3 2024. Direct expense ratio, excluding notable items related to direct expenses and PRT, edged down to 11.6% from 11.7% a year ago.

Adjusted book value was $56.57 per share at Sept. 30, 2025, from $54.72 at Sept. 30, 2024.

Adjusted earnings growth by segment (reported basis):

*
Group Benefits rose 22% Y/Y

*
Retirement and Income Solutions dipped 8% Y/Y.

*
Asia jumped 77% Y/Y.

*
Latin America slid 33% Y/Y.

*
Europe, the Middle East and Africa rose 26% Y/Y.

* MetLife (MET [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MET]) Holdings increased 12%.

Conference call [https://investor.metlife.com/overview/default.aspx] on Nov. 6 at 9:00 AM ET.

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