Overview

* Great-West Lifeco ( GWLIF ) Q2 base earnings rise 11% yr/yr, driven by wealth and benefits

* Net earnings fall 11% due to transformation charges, unfavorable market experience

* Co plans additional $500 mln share buybacks in 2025

Outlook

* Company expects Empower Retirement net plan inflows of at least US$25 bln in H2 2025

* Great-West Lifeco ( GWLIF ) plans additional $500 mln share buybacks in 2025

* Company anticipates continued double-digit base earnings growth at Empower

* Great-West Lifeco ( GWLIF ) sees strong capital generation supporting medium-term objectives

Result Drivers

* WEALTH AND GROUP BENEFITS - Strong performance in wealth and group benefits businesses drove double-digit base earnings growth

* U.S. SEGMENT - U.S. base earnings growth driven by increased customer account balances and plan participants

* CURRENCY MOVEMENTS - Favourable currency movements contributed to earnings growth

Key Details

Metric Beat/Mis Actual Consensu

s s

Estimate

Q2 Base C$1.24

EPS

Q2 Net C$894

Income mln

Q2 Base 17.4%

ROE

Q2 C$0.61

Dividend

Analyst Coverage

* The current average analyst rating on the shares is "hold" and the breakdown of recommendations is 2 "strong buy" or "buy", 5 "hold" and 1 "sell" or "strong sell"

* The average consensus recommendation for the life & health insurance peer group is "buy."

* Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Great-West Lifeco Inc ( GWLIF ) is C$55.50, about 6.2% above its August 1 closing price of C$52.06

* The stock recently traded at 11 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 11 three months ago

Press Release:

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)