The Hartford’s second quarter saw a favorable market reaction, as investors responded to strong non-GAAP earnings despite a slight revenue shortfall compared to analyst expectations. Management highlighted the impact of advanced underwriting tools, continued investment in artificial intelligence (AI), and disciplined pricing as key drivers of growth. CEO Christopher Swift emphasized the company’s ability to capitalize on market opportunities while maintaining robust margins, stating, “Our best-in-class quoting platform is powered by intelligent automation, real-time decisioning and proprietary pricing models, differentiated by our rich historical data.” Segment performance was supported by improvements in both Business Insurance and Personal Insurance, along with solid investment portfolio returns.
Is now the time to buy HIG? Find out in our full research report (it’s free).
Hartford (HIG) Q2 CY2025 Highlights:
- Revenue: $6.99 billion vs analyst estimates of $7.05 billion (7.7% year-on-year growth, 0.9% miss)
- Adjusted EPS: $3.41 vs analyst estimates of $2.83 (20.4% beat)
- Adjusted Operating Income: $1.25 billion vs analyst estimates of $1.16 billion (17.8% margin, 7.7% beat)
- Market Capitalization: $36.28 billion
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 Hartford’s Q2 Earnings Call
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Andrew Scott Kligerman (TD Cowen) focused on the mix and growth drivers within Global Specialty, to which CEO Christopher Swift and Global Specialty head Adin Tooker detailed product and geographic diversity, and an emphasis on expanding specialty offerings into small and middle market customers.
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Elyse Beth Greenspan (Wells Fargo) asked about margin consistency in Business Insurance, with Swift noting the team’s commitment to holding margins steady and considering current performance as consistent with expectations despite minor fluctuations.
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Brian Robert Meredith (UBS) questioned the impact of pricing trends and competitive dynamics in commercial property and excess/surplus (E&S) lines, with leadership indicating stable rate levels and ongoing strength in E&S flows despite some market pressure in larger property and wholesale lines.
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Wesley Collin Carmichael (Autonomous Research) probed whether management would prioritize growth over margins in Employee Benefits, to which Swift and Mike Fish stressed disciplined pricing and a focus on maintaining target margins, especially given long-term product guarantees.
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Jian Huang (Morgan Stanley) explored the competitive environment in Personal Lines, with Swift and Personal Lines head Melinda Thompson noting that while the market remains highly competitive, retention improvement and new business initiatives are intended to support growth, particularly through agency channels.
Catalysts in Upcoming Quarters
Going forward, the StockStory team will be watching (1) the pace of AI and automation adoption across underwriting and claims functions, (2) the rollout and customer uptake of the Prevail offering in new states, and (3) margin trends in Personal Insurance as competitive dynamics and inflationary pressures continue. Progress on digital partnerships in Employee Benefits and resilience in investment yields will also influence our view of The Hartford’s execution.
Hartford currently trades at $129.02, up from $121.34 just before the earnings. In the wake of this quarter, is it a buy or sell? Find out in our full research report (it’s free).
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