Brown & Brown Q4 Earnings Top Estimates on Higher Commission and Fees

Brown & Brown, Inc.’s BRO fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of 86 cents per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 14.7%. The bottom line increased 48.3% year over year.See the Zacks Earnings Calendar to stay ahead of market-making news.The quarterly results reflected improved organic revenues, driven by higher commission and fees and investment income and expanded EBITDAC margin, offset by higher expenses.Shares gained 1.9% in after-market trading to reflect the outperformance.Brown & Brown, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Brown & Brown, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Brown & Brown, Inc. QuoteBRO’s Q4 DetailsTotal revenues of $1.2 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.4%. The top line improved 15.4% year over year. The upside can be primarily attributed to commission and fees, which grew 15.4% year over year to $1.1 billion. Our estimate for commission and fees was $1 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $1.1 billion. Organic revenues improved 13.8% to $1.1 billion in the quarter under review.Investment income increased 22.2% year over year to $22 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the metric was pegged at $20.7 million and our estimate was $31.8 million. Adjusted EBITDAC was $390 million, up 22.6% year over year. EBITDAC margin expanded 190 basis points (bps) year over year to 32.9%. Our estimate for adjusted EBITDAC was $366.3 million.Total expenses increased 35.72% to $909 million due to a rise in employee compensation and benefits, other operating expenses, amortization, depreciation and interest. Our estimate was $801.2 million.Full-Year HighlightsAdjusted earnings of $3.25 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.73 per share. The bottom line increased 81.2% year over year.Total revenues of $4.8 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.7 billion. The top line improved 12.9% year over year. Organic revenues increased 10.4%.Adjusted EBITDAC increased 17% to $1.7 billion, while adjusted EBITDAC margin expanded 130 bps to 35.2%.Financial Update of BROBrown & Brown exited 2024 with cash and cash equivalents of $2.5 billion, which increased 8.6% from the 2023-end level. Long-term debt was $4 billion as of Dec. 30, 2024, up 11.5% from the 2023-end level. Net cash provided by operating activities in 2024 was $1.6 billion, up 16.2% year over year.Dividend UpdateThe board of directors paid a regular cash dividend of $154 million in the reported quarter.Zacks RankBRO currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Performance of Other InsurersThe Travelers Companies TRV reported fourth-quarter 2024 core income of $9.15 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 39.3% and improved 30.5% year over year. Travelers’ total revenues increased 10.4% from the year-ago quarter to $11.9 billion. The top-line figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1%.Net written premiums increased 7% year over year to a record $10.7 billion, driven by strong growth across all three segments. Our estimate was $10.8 billion.  The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $926 million. Travelers witnessed an underwriting gain of $1.4 billion, up 30.5% year over year. The consolidated underlying combined ratio of 84 improved 190 bps year over year.RLI Corp. RLI reported fourth-quarter 2024 operating earnings of 41 cents per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 14.5%. The bottom line decreased 46.8% from the prior-year quarter. Operating revenues for the reported quarter were $436 million, up 15.3% year over year, driven by higher net premiums earned and net investment income. The top line matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate.Gross premiums written increased 9% year over year to $473.2 million. This uptick can be attributed to the solid performance of the Casualty segment (up 18.3%). Our estimate was $550 million. Underwriting income of $22.2 million decreased 62.8% year over year. The combined ratio deteriorated 1,170 bps year over year to 94.4. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the metric was pegged at 96, while our estimate was 102.W.R. Berkley Corporation’s WRB fourth-quarter 2024 operating income of $1.13 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 20.2%. The bottom line improved 17.7% year over year. Operating revenues came in at $3.5 billion, up 9.2% year over year. The top line beat the consensus estimate by 4.2%.W.R. Berkley’s net premiums written were $2.9 billion, up 8% year over year. The figure was lower than our estimate of $3 billion.  The consolidated combined ratio (a measure of underwriting profitability) deteriorated 180 bps year over year to 90.2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was 91.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report RLI Corp. (RLI): Free Stock Analysis Report The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV): Free Stock Analysis Report W.R. Berkley Corporation (WRB): Free Stock Analysis Report Brown & Brown, Inc. (BRO): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks