Equitable Holdings faced a challenging third quarter as it missed Wall Street’s revenue and adjusted earnings expectations, resulting in a significant negative market reaction. Management attributed the underperformance primarily to notable items including onetime impacts from its life reinsurance transaction and elevated mortality costs. CEO Mark Pearson acknowledged, “Earnings rebounded from the first half of the year, helped by growth in each of our core businesses and the completion of the life reinsurance transaction,” but also recognized impacts from assumption changes and transaction timing. The company’s focus on growing its asset and wealth management businesses partially offset headwinds in legacy life insurance, while annual assumption reviews validated a conservative approach to risk.

Is now the time to buy EQH? Find out in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).

While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention.

Our Top 5 Analyst Questions From Equitable Holdings’s Q3 Earnings Call

• Suneet Kamath (Jefferies): asked about Equitable’s approach to private credit risk and ratings, with CFO Robin Raju emphasizing the importance of in-house underwriting and stating, “We invest in investment-grade assets and pick up a liquidity premium as a result.”
• Thomas Gallagher (Evercore ISI): questioned the sustainability of HoldCo liquidity and RGA transaction proceeds. Raju confirmed that future capital deployment will balance buybacks with growth investments and that excess capital supports flexibility.
• Joel Hurwitz (Dowling): inquired about higher DAC amortization in retirement and whether surrenders were worsening. CFO Raju clarified that surrenders were consistent with expectations and higher account values, not increased rates, drove the impact.
• Jamminder Bhullar (JPMorgan): asked about competition in the RILA market. President Nick Lane noted that new entrants often offer unsustainable teaser rates, and Equitable remains focused on profitable growth and prudent product innovation.
• Tracy Benguigui (Wolfe Research): sought clarity on the FCA Re mandate, with AllianceBernstein CEO Seth Bernstein stating that existing relationships and complementary capabilities in Asia drove the partnership, expanding private alternatives AUM.

Catalysts in Upcoming Quarters

In the coming quarters, the StockStory team will watch (1) the pace of integration and productivity gains following the Stifel Independent Advisors acquisition, (2) further growth in private markets and the impact of new sidecar investments, and (3) ongoing expense efficiency and stabilization of mortality-related volatility after the life reinsurance transaction. Execution against these milestones will be key to validating management’s confidence in long-term targets.

Equitable Holdings currently trades at $44.61, down from $48.87 just before the earnings. Is the company at an inflection point that warrants a buy or sell? The answer lies in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).

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