Essent Group Ltd.: Q3 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q3 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 6 November 2026: press release. Guidance figures: 1 new, 1 kept. The quarter’s numbers.

Read the filing

Key takeaways

• Net income and diluted EPS: Net income was $163.4 million, or $1.82 diluted, against $164.2 million, or $1.67, a year earlier. Second-quarter net income was $189.7 million, or $2.08 diluted. Source
• Mortgage pre-tax income edged up: Mortgage Insurance income before income taxes was $185.3 million, against $184.4 million a year earlier. The segment loss ratio was 24.5%, against 20.5%. Source
• Reinsurance written premiums grew: Reinsurance net premiums written were $81.6 million in the quarter, of which $66.4 million was non-mortgage. Nine-month reinsurance net premiums written were $330.3 million. Source
• Mortgage new insurance written fell: Mortgage NIW was $12.1 billion, against $14.1 billion in the second quarter and $12.2 billion a year earlier. Nine-month NIW was $37.3 billion, against $34.7 billion. Source
• Loans in default increased: Loans in default were 21,919, against 20,278 at June 30, 2026 and 18,583 a year earlier. The default rate was 2.75%, against 2.29% a year earlier. Source
• Prior-year reserve decrease in mortgage: Prior-year reserve development in the mortgage rollforward was a $29.6 million reduction in the third quarter, against $29.0 million in the second quarter and $18.2 million a year earlier. Source
• Book value per share declined: Book value per share was $62.58, against $63.01 at June 30, 2026 and $58.86 a year earlier. Including dividends, 12-month growth in book value per share was 8.6%. Source
• Buybacks reduced shares outstanding: Through October 31, 2026, Essent repurchased 7.7 million shares for $474 million, against 5.8 million for $348 million through July 31. Shares outstanding were 88,769 thousand at September 30. Source

“Our third quarter results reflect the earnings power of our mortgage insurance and reinsurance franchise”

Mark A. Casale, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Guidance

What changed from last quarter

• New: Board approved a $500 million share repurchase authorization in November 2026, running through year-end 2028. Source
• Ended: Ceded premium excludes two terminated transactions, Radnor Re 2021-1 and XOL 2019-1. Source
• New: Investor relations contact changed from Philip Stefano, Vice President, to Frank Fanto, Head of Investor Relations. Source
• Guidance kept: Quarterly dividend held at $0.35 per common share, matching the prior declaration. Source

Quarterly earnings and premiums

• Net income and diluted EPS: Net income was $163.4 million, or $1.82 diluted, against $164.2 million, or $1.67, a year earlier. Second-quarter net income was $189.7 million, or $2.08 diluted. Source
• Nine-month earnings and share count: Nine-month net income was $524.9 million, or $5.71 diluted, against $535.0 million and $5.29. Weighted average diluted shares fell to 91.9 million from 101.2 million. Source
• Net premiums earned increased: Net premiums earned were $290.7 million, against $246.3 million a year earlier and $276.8 million in the second quarter. Net premiums written were $302.9 million. Source
• Other invested assets income rose: Income from other invested assets was $10.7 million, against $1.8 million a year earlier. Nine-month income was $40.3 million, against $13.6 million. Source

Mortgage insurance segment

• Mortgage pre-tax income edged up: Mortgage Insurance income before income taxes was $185.3 million, against $184.4 million a year earlier. The segment loss ratio was 24.5%, against 20.5%. Source
• Mortgage loss provision rose: Mortgage Insurance provision for losses and LAE was $51.7 million, against $44.2 million a year earlier and $29.4 million in the second quarter. Source
• Nine-month mortgage income declined: Nine-month Mortgage Insurance income before income taxes was $588.0 million, against $598.4 million, with a combined ratio of 34.3%. Source

“With the solid credit quality of our insurance in force and our strong capital position, we are well positioned to deliver high-quality earnings with continued flexibility to invest in the business and return capital to shareholders.”

Mark A. Casale, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Reinsurance segment

• Reinsurance written premiums grew: Reinsurance net premiums written were $81.6 million in the quarter, of which $66.4 million was non-mortgage. Nine-month reinsurance net premiums written were $330.3 million. Source
• Reinsurance loss provision increased: Reinsurance provision for losses and LAE was $31.0 million, with a loss ratio of 48.5%, against 42.9% in the second quarter and 0.4% a year earlier. Source
• Nine-month reinsurance combined ratio: Nine-month reinsurance combined ratio was 79.3%, against 18.5% in the first nine months of 2025. Source

Insurance written and insured base

• Mortgage new insurance written fell: Mortgage NIW was $12.1 billion, against $14.1 billion in the second quarter and $12.2 billion a year earlier. Nine-month NIW was $37.3 billion, against $34.7 billion. Source
• Insurance in force rose slightly: Insurance in force was $250.1 billion, against $249.7 billion at June 30, 2026 and $248.8 billion a year earlier. Policies in force were 795,678. Source
• Purchase share of NIW rose: Purchase loans were 94.3% of third-quarter NIW, against 90.5% a year earlier; refinance was 5.7%. Nine-month purchase share was 85.2%. Source
• Annual persistency declined: Annual persistency was 83.3%, against 84.0% in the second quarter and 86.0% a year earlier. Source
• Credit mix of new business: Weighted average credit score on NIW was 750, against 754 a year earlier. NIW at 760 and above was 47.8%, against 52.0%. Source

Defaults, reserves and loss development

• Loans in default increased: Loans in default were 21,919, against 20,278 at June 30, 2026 and 18,583 a year earlier. The default rate was 2.75%, against 2.29% a year earlier. Source
• New defaults rose from second quarter: New defaults were 12,034, against 9,846 in the second quarter and 10,357 a year earlier. Source
• Cure rate fell for the quarter: Cure rate was 25%, against 59% in the second quarter and 88% a year earlier. The company defines it using new defaults still open at quarter end. Source
• Prior-year reserve decrease in mortgage: Prior-year reserve development in the mortgage rollforward was a $29.6 million reduction in the third quarter, against $29.0 million in the second quarter and $18.2 million a year earlier. Source
• Total reserves for losses rose: Reserve for losses and LAE was $511.0 million, against $475.0 million at June 30, 2026 and $379.5 million a year earlier. Source

Costs and expense ratios

• Other operating expenses rose: Other underwriting and operating expenses were $83.5 million, against $59.5 million a year earlier and $75.3 million in the second quarter. Nine-month expenses were $231.7 million. Source
• Acquisition costs turned to expense: Acquisition costs, net, were an expense of $11.8 million, against a $6.6 million net credit a year earlier. Acquisition costs are net of ceding commissions. Source
• Mortgage expense ratio edged up: Mortgage Insurance expense ratio was 15.1%, against 14.4% a year earlier and 14.8% in the second quarter. The ratio is operating expenses after allocations divided by net premiums earned. Source

Capital, cash and shareholder returns

• Book value per share declined: Book value per share was $62.58, against $63.01 at June 30, 2026 and $58.86 a year earlier. Including dividends, 12-month growth in book value per share was 8.6%. Source
• Buybacks reduced shares outstanding: Through October 31, 2026, Essent repurchased 7.7 million shares for $474 million, against 5.8 million for $348 million through July 31. Shares outstanding were 88,769 thousand at September 30. Source
• PMIERs sufficiency ratio rose: Essent Guaranty PMIERs sufficiency ratio was 177%, against 172% at June 30, 2026. Available Assets were $3.71 billion against minimum required assets of $2.10 billion. Source
• Risk-to-capital ratio fell: Essent Guaranty risk-to-capital ratio was 8.2:1, against 8.5:1 at June 30, 2026. Statutory capital was $3.72 billion, against $3.68 billion. Source
• Holding company cash and investments fell: Holding company cash and investments available for sale were $959.1 million, against $1,108.7 million at June 30. Debt-to-capital was 8.26%, against 8.11%. Source

Investment income and portfolio value

• Nine-month investment income rose: Net investment income was $183.8 million for the nine months, up 4% from the comparable 2025 period. Third-quarter net investment income was $63.0 million. Source
• Investment yield for the quarter: Pre-tax yield on cash and investments available for sale was 4.06% for the quarter and 3.94% for nine months. Aggregate yield on total cash and investments was 4.42% for the quarter. Source
• Unrealized investment depreciation widened: Unrealized depreciation of investments was $169.0 million in the quarter, against $50.2 million of appreciation a year earlier. Nine-month depreciation was $207.7 million. Source

Coming up, as management said on 6 November 2026

• Dividend payment date set: The $0.35 dividend is payable on December 10, 2026 to holders of record on December 1, 2026. Source

Figures management reported

Other quarters

• Q2 FY2026 earnings call
• Q1 FY2026 earnings call
• Q4 FY2025 earnings call
• Q3 FY2025 results

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.