US life Q2'23 earnings recap: Jackson Financial sees biggest YOY revenue decline

Out of the largest publicly traded US life insurers, Jackson Financial Inc. experienced the most drastic year-over-year drop in revenue in the second quarter.

Jackson Financial booked total revenue of $410 million for the second quarter, a sharp decrease from the $6.69 billion reported for the same period in 2022.

The large fall in revenue stemmed from losses related to Jackson Financial's derivative investments. The company reported net losses of $1.95 billion on its freestanding derivatives, which Jackson Financial cited as being primarily driven by market increases in 2023, compared to decreases in the prior year.

In the second quarter of 2022, Jackson Financial reported net gains of $2.87 billion on its freestanding derivatives.

Jackson Financial did not respond to a request for comment.

Most see revenues fall

Jackson Financial was not alone in posting a drop in revenue as most of the top publicly traded US life insurers saw year-over-year revenues fall in the second quarter of 2023.

However, Prudential Financial Inc., MetLife Inc. and Voya Financial Inc. were able to buck the trend and saw second-quarter revenues increase from the year-ago period.

Prudential Financial saw one of the largest increases in year-over-year revenue. The company booked revenue of $13.50 billion in the second quarter, compared with $11.39 billion in the second quarter of 2022.

Genworth Financial Inc. reported relatively flat revenue for the second quarter compared with the same period in 2022.

Earnings decline for most

Earnings also fell for most of the top listed US life insurers, with just four showing year-over-year improvement.

Prudential Financial booked earnings per share of $2.94 in the quarter, up from $2.34 in the year-ago period. During Prudential Financial's earnings call, CEO Charles Lowrey touted the insurer's achievement of lowering its proportion of traditional variable annuities while continuing its progress in pivoting to products that are higher growth and less market-sensitive.

Brighthouse Financial Inc. saw the largest increase in EPS for the period with $4.13 reported in the second quarter, up from $1.91 in the second quarter of 2022.