Equitable Swings to Loss as Asset Flows Reverse
Assets under management and administration reached a record $1.175 trillion.
Equitable Holdings (EQH), the financial-services company, swung to a $453 million second-quarter net loss, or $1.68 a share, from net income of $621 million, or $2.14 a share, in the first quarter.
The GAAP loss widened from $349 million, or $1.21 a share, a year earlier. Underlying earnings moved in the other direction as asset-management flows turned positive and fee-based businesses benefited from higher client assets.
Non-GAAP operating earnings rose to $488 million from $472 million sequentially and increased 39% from a year earlier. Operating EPS climbed to $1.70 from $1.62 in the first quarter and $1.10 a year earlier. Excluding notable items, operating earnings were $501 million, or $1.75 a share, with adjusted EPS up 24% from the prior-year quarter.
Total assets under management and administration grew 10% from a year earlier, accelerating from 9% growth in the first quarter. Asset Management recorded $800 million of net inflows after $7.1 billion of outflows in the preceding quarter, a $7.9 billion sequential improvement led by Retail and Institutional.
Retirement operating earnings rose 14% to $402 million as higher fee-based revenue and a lower tax rate supported results. First-year premiums increased 13% to $6.2 billion, accelerating from 10% growth in the first quarter, while net inflows increased sequentially to $1.7 billion.
Wealth Management operating earnings increased 26% to $63 million, supported by higher client assets and advisory fees. Advisory net inflows held at $2.0 billion, and assets under administration climbed 27% to $140.6 billion, aided by the Stifel transaction.
Equitable reiterated its 2026 targets of $1.8 billion in cash generation and a 60% to 70% payout ratio after the first-half ratio reached 70%. The company returned $449 million to shareholders during the quarter, more than double the first-quarter amount, including $366 million of share repurchases.
Shareholders approved Equitable’s Corebridge merger on July 30, and the transaction remained on track to close by year-end. Equitable continues to project that the combination will add more than 10% to EPS and cash generation on a run-rate basis by the end of 2028.