Equitable Q3 Adjusted EPS Rises 19% as Net Inflows Span Businesses

Equitable Holdings reported stronger third-quarter 2026 operating earnings per share as its retirement, asset management and wealth management businesses all generated positive net flows, while the company said its pending merger with Corebridge Financial remains on track to close by year-end.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, Equitable posted non-GAAP operating earnings of $595 million, or $2.13 per share, compared with $455 million, or $1.48 per share, a year earlier. Excluding notable items, non-GAAP operating earnings were $554 million, or $1.98 per share, with adjusted operating EPS rising 19% year over year.

GAAP net income attributable to Equitable Holdings was $1.12 billion, while net income available to common shareholders was $4.05 per share. An annual actuarial assumption update contributed $28 million to non-GAAP operating earnings and $111 million to net income. The effective tax rate was 20%, consistent with the company’s guidance.

Assets under management and administration increased 4% from a year earlier to $1.16 trillion, comprising $1.02 trillion of assets under management and $140 billion of assets under administration.

Net inflows across operating businesses

The Retirement business generated $1.1 billion of net inflows, primarily supported by record registered index-linked annuity sales, which rose 8% year over year. Retirement asset value increased 10% to $189 billion.

Retirement operating earnings adjusted for notable items edged up to $409 million from $403 million. Net interest margin rose 12% year over year and 5% sequentially to $480 million, although higher deferred acquisition cost amortization and commissions partly offset the benefit of asset growth. Equitable also said third-quarter core spread results were affected by timing factors. Tax-exempt products recorded $279 million of seasonal net outflows, and the business had no material institutional inflows during the quarter.

AllianceBernstein, Equitable’s Asset Management business, recorded $6.6 billion of net inflows, including a $12 billion commercial mortgage loan mandate from Equitable that funded in July. Active net flows improved to $4.1 billion from an outflow of $3.4 billion a year earlier, while assets under management increased 5% to $900.4 billion.

Asset Management operating earnings were roughly flat at $152 million, as higher average assets under management were offset by a lower average fee rate and increased expenses. Adjusted operating margin declined 70 basis points to 33.5%.

AllianceBernstein’s private-markets assets reached $105 billion, up 33% year over year and above its $90 billion to $100 billion target for 2027. The institutional pipeline stood at $13 billion at quarter-end. Equitable now forecasts $135 million to $150 million of Asset Management performance fees for full-year 2026, compared with its previous forecast of $115 million to $135 million.

Wealth Management adjusted operating earnings increased to $75 million from $55 million, driven mainly by growth in advisory assets under administration and higher advisor productivity. Advisory net inflows reached $2.7 billion, representing an 11% annualized organic growth rate.

Total Wealth Management assets under administration rose 19% to $140 billion, with about two-thirds held in fee-based advisory accounts. Productivity per advisor increased 14% to $487,000, and the pre-tax operating margin expanded to 17.0% from 15.6%.

Capital returns and merger outlook

Equitable returned $320 million to common shareholders during the quarter through dividends and share repurchases. Its payout ratio was 59% for the quarter and 66% for the first nine months of 2026, keeping the company on track for its full-year target of 60% to 70%.

Holding-company cash and liquid assets totaled $900 million at quarter-end, excluding about $145 million available to AllianceBernstein through its credit facility with Equitable Holdings. Adjusted debt to capital, valuing AllianceBernstein at market value and excluding accumulated other comprehensive income, was 25.5%. Management said Equitable remains on track to generate about $1.8 billion of cash in 2026 under normal market assumptions.

The company completed the sale of its Employee Benefits business to The Hartford in October. It also said regulatory approvals for its all-stock merger with Corebridge remain in progress, with closing targeted by the end of 2026. Equitable projects the combined company could produce more than $5 billion of adjusted operating earnings and more than $4 billion of cash generation on a 2027 run-rate basis, including anticipated expense synergies and excluding purchase-accounting effects.

Completion of the transaction remains subject to regulatory and other approvals. Equitable cautioned that timing, integration challenges, financing conditions, costs and the ability to realize projected synergies could affect the merger’s outcome. Broader uncertainties include equity-market volatility, interest-rate movements, credit and counterparty risk, changes in assets under management, regulatory developments and reliance on dividends from operating subsidiaries.

Equitable described its $121 billion general-account investment portfolio, excluding cash and short-term investments, as predominantly high quality. Its $90 billion fixed-maturity portfolio was 98% investment grade, while private credit represented 19% of the general account and was about 96% investment grade. The company’s $3.23 billion alternatives portfolio delivered a 5.1% annualized pre-tax return in the third quarter; management continues to expect annual returns of 8% to 12% over time, though actual results remain exposed to market and investment-performance risks.