Insurance and retirement company Lincoln National (NYSE: LNC) beat Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q3 2026, with revenue up 14.7% year on year to $5.48 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.72 per share was 12% below analysts’ consensus estimates.

For more on Lincoln Financial Group, read our free full research report.

Revenue growth

Insurance companies earn revenue from three primary sources: 1) the core insurance business itself, often called underwriting and represented in the income statement as premiums; 2) income from investing the “float” (premiums collected upfront not yet paid out as claims) in assets such as fixed-income assets and equities; 3) fees from various sources such as policy administration, annuities or other value-added services. Lincoln Financial Group struggled to consistently increase demand as its $20.17 billion of revenue for the trailing 12 months was close to its revenue five years ago. This fell below our standards and points to poor business quality.

Long-term growth matters most, but within financials, a half-decade historical view may miss recent interest rate changes, market returns and industry trends. Lincoln Financial Group’s annualized revenue growth of 13.4% over the last two years is above its five-year trend, suggesting its demand recently accelerated. Note: Quarters not shown were determined to be outliers because they were impacted by outsized investment gains/losses that are not indicative of the recurring fundamentals of the business.

This quarter, Lincoln Financial Group reported year-on-year revenue growth of 14.7%, and its $5.48 billion of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s consensus estimates by 10%.

Net premiums earned made up 62.9% of the company’s total revenue during the last five years, meaning insurance operations are Lincoln Financial Group’s largest source of revenue.

The market cares primarily about an insurer’s net premiums earned growth as investment and fee income are considered more susceptible to market volatility and economic cycles.

Book value per share

Insurers are balance sheet businesses, collecting premiums upfront and paying out claims over time. Premiums collected but not yet paid out, often referred to as the float, are invested and create an asset base supported by a liability structure. Book value per share, or BVPS, captures this dynamic by measuring these assets (investment portfolio, cash, reinsurance recoverables) less liabilities (claim reserves, debt, future policy benefits). BVPS is essentially the residual value for shareholders.

BVPS is therefore an important metric to track for insurers and sheds light on business quality because it reflects long-term capital growth and is harder to manipulate than more commonly used metrics like EPS.

Lincoln Financial Group’s BVPS declined at a 16.5% annual rate over the last five years. On a two-year basis, BVPS fell at a slower pace, dropping by 1% annually from $47.12 to $46.17 per share.

Over the next 12 months, consensus estimates call for Lincoln Financial Group’s BVPS to grow by 88.7% to $79.86, a strong growth rate.

Key takeaways from Lincoln Financial Group’s Q3 results

Lincoln Financial Group’s sizable revenue beat was offset by misses on EPS and book value per share, leaving the quarter weaker overall. Revenue came in well above analysts’ consensus estimates, but book value per share fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Shares fell 4.5% to $39.74 immediately after the results.

Lincoln Financial Group’s results disappointed this quarter, but does that create an opportunity to buy the stock? That decision calls for a broader look at valuation and business quality alongside the latest earnings. For more on Lincoln Financial Group, read the full research report here (it’s free).