Summary
Aflac Incorporated (AFL) reported a strong first quarter for 2021, with net earnings more than doubling to $1.3 billion ($1.87 per diluted share) compared to $566 million ($.78 per diluted share) in the prior year. This significant increase was primarily driven by a substantial rebound in net investment gains, which swung from a loss of $463 million in Q1 2020 to a gain of $307 million in Q1 2021. The company's total revenues also saw a healthy increase, reaching $5.9 billion, up from $5.2 billion in the year-ago quarter. The "adjusted earnings," a non-GAAP measure used by management to assess underlying business performance, also showed improvement, increasing to $1.05 billion ($1.53 per diluted share) from $882 million ($1.21 per diluted share) in Q1 2020. Both Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments contributed to the results, with Aflac Japan's "pretax adjusted earnings" growing slightly to $887 million, and Aflac U.S. seeing a notable increase in "pretax adjusted earnings" to $445 million. The company also continued its capital return program, repurchasing $650 million of its common stock during the quarter.
Financial Highlights
34 data points| Revenue | $5.87B |
| SG&A Expenses | $832.00M |
| Operating Expenses | $1.53B |
| Operating Income | $1.31B |
| Interest Expense | $62.00M |
| Net Income | $1.29B |
| EPS (Basic) | $1.88 |
| EPS (Diluted) | $1.87 |
| Shares Outstanding (Basic) | 688.94M |
| Shares Outstanding (Diluted) | 691.94M |
Key Highlights
- 1Net earnings increased significantly to $1.3 billion in Q1 2021 from $566 million in Q1 2020, primarily due to higher net investment gains.
- 2Adjusted earnings, a key performance metric for management, rose to $1.05 billion ($1.53 per diluted share) from $882 million ($1.21 per diluted share) in the prior year.
- 3Total revenues increased to $5.9 billion in Q1 2021 from $5.2 billion in Q1 2020.
- 4Aflac Japan's pretax adjusted earnings were $887 million, a slight increase from $855 million in the prior year, driven by higher adjusted net investment income.
- 5Aflac U.S. pretax adjusted earnings saw a substantial increase to $445 million from $326 million in the prior year, primarily due to lower benefit ratios.
- 6The company repurchased $650 million of its common stock in the first quarter of 2021, demonstrating a commitment to returning capital to shareholders.
- 7Shareholders' equity increased to $32.1 billion at March 31, 2021, from $26.4 billion at March 31, 2020, with a significant portion attributed to unrealized gains on investment securities.