GET DAILY SIGNALSCNA Financial (CNA) Reports Q3 2026 Results With LTC Reserve Impact
Key Takeaways
- CNA Financial reported third quarter 2026 net income of $196 million, or $0.72 per diluted share, down from $403 million ($1.48 per share) in the prior-year quarter.
- Core income came in at $203 million, or $0.75 per diluted share, well below the roughly $1.16 consensus estimate, largely reflecting a $137 million after-tax long-term care (LTC) reserve charge.
- Property & Casualty (P&C) core income declined to $397 million, and the combined ratio rose to 97.0% from 92.8% on higher catastrophe losses.
- Net investment income held steady at $635 million, while P&C net written premiums grew 3% to $2.507 billion.
- Book value per share excluding AOCI (accumulated other comprehensive income) rose 5% to $46.11, and the company declared a $0.48 quarterly dividend.
Why the Third Quarter Carries Extra Weight
For CNA, the third quarter stands out because it aligns with the annual long-term care reserve assumption review. This process reassesses factors such as cost-of-care inflation, morbidity rates, and premium adjustments, often leading to sizable one-time adjustments in earnings even when the core insurance operations remain steady. I also keep an eye on P&C pricing trends, catastrophe losses, and investment income during this period. With commercial lines pricing easing industry-wide and catastrophe activity elevated, the results provide a useful gauge of whether CNA’s underwriting discipline and bond-focused portfolio can counterbalance pressures from its legacy LTC block.
Details on the Quarter’s Performance
CNA reported third quarter 2026 net income of $196 million, or $0.72 per diluted share, compared with $403 million, or $1.48 per share, a year earlier. Core income totaled $203 million, or $0.75 per diluted share, versus $409 million, or $1.50 per share, in the prior-year quarter. The figure missed the consensus estimate of about $1.16 per share, primarily due to the $137 million after-tax charge tied to the annual LTC reserve assumption update.
Total revenue stayed essentially flat at $3.821 billion versus $3.817 billion a year ago. P&C core income fell $59 million to $397 million, as the combined ratio increased to 97.0% from 92.8%. Catastrophe losses rose to $78 million pretax from $41 million, contributing 2.8 points to the combined ratio. The underlying combined ratio moved to 94.2% from 91.3%, reflecting a higher underlying loss ratio.
The Life & Group segment recorded a core loss of $171 million, compared with a $22 million loss a year earlier, reflecting the reserve charge. Net investment income came in at $635 million, close to the $638 million posted in the same quarter last year. The company maintained its regular quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share.
How the Market Responded
After the release, CNA shares moved lower as investors balanced the EPS shortfall against management’s description of an otherwise steady underlying quarter. The drop in reported and core income stemmed mainly from the annual LTC reserve update, which GAAP requires to be recognized immediately even though management indicated the economic effect is largely offset by future investment income from recent portfolio adjustments. Sentiment also reflected the higher P&C combined ratio, driven by increased catastrophe losses and a rising underlying loss ratio, especially in excess casualty and workers’ compensation lines.
Looking Ahead at Key Areas
Going forward, the path of the underlying combined ratio will remain a key focus. Management highlighted a higher underlying loss ratio in excess casualty and workers’ compensation, where pricing and claims trends continue to be monitored closely. Investors will watch whether written rate increases of +2% and renewal premium change of +3% keep pace with loss cost inflation.
The long-term care block stays important as well. Management reaffirmed that the LTC business holds a substantial statutory reserve margin of $1.3 billion and expressed confidence that risks from the run-off block are contained. Still, future annual reserve reviews could generate additional lumpy charges, so the pace of policy count decline and premium rate approvals will warrant attention.
On a positive note, the investment portfolio continues to benefit from higher reinvestment rates, with management guiding to roughly $600 million in fixed income and other investment income for the fourth quarter. Capital returns via the $0.48 quarterly dividend and steady book value growth excluding AOCI offer further support for those tracking the company’s longer-term financial position.
Refining Research With AI Tools
I often turn to Tickeron’s AI Screener when comparing results like these across the insurance sector. The tool lets me filter for technical patterns, fundamentals, and performance metrics in a structured way, helping surface relevant peers and trends more efficiently than manual checks. It has become a regular part of my process for building context around quarterly updates.
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Contributor
Sergey Savastiouk, Ph.D. has a degree in Applied Mathematics from Moscow University and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor, manager, and mathematician. His professional expertise is in applied mathematics, mathematical modeling, system and pattern analysis, and software and hardware system integration. He has served as the CEO of several hi-tech start-up companies and nonprofit organizations, which has given him proven capabilities in business strategy for high-tech start-up companies, market assessment, company formation, team building, product development, marketing, and sales. He has published numerous articles in journals and magazines on related fields. As a retail investor, he spent 15 years developing his proprietary trading and quantitative algorithms (now Tickeron’s A.I.), which brought him significant returns in trading the stock market. His current work and goal in founding Tickeron is to bring professional, sophisticated stock market analysis capabilities to retail investors via an easy-to-use interface.
CNA's MACD Histogram just turned positive
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for CNA turned positive on October 06, 2026. Looking at past instances where CNA's MACD turned positive, the stock continued to rise in 31 of 50 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 62%.
Technical Analysis (Indicators)
Bullish Trend Analysis
The Momentum Indicator moved above the 0 level on October 08, 2026. You may want to consider a long position or call options on CNA as a result. In 54 of 91 past instances where the momentum indicator moved above 0, the stock continued to climb. The odds of a continued upward trend are 59%.
CNA moved above its 50-day moving average on October 20, 2026 date and that indicates a change from a downward trend to an upward trend.
The 10-day moving average for CNA crossed bullishly above the 50-day moving average on October 26, 2026. This indicates that the trend has shifted higher and could be considered a buy signal. In 11 of 20 past instances when the 10-day crossed above the 50-day, the stock continued to move higher over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 55%.
Following a +1.40% 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where CNA advanced for three days, in 165 of 334 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 49%.
The Aroon Indicator entered an Uptrend today. In 102 of 237 cases where CNA Aroon's Indicator entered an Uptrend, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued Uptrend are 43%.
Bearish Trend Analysis
The 10-day RSI Indicator for CNA moved out of overbought territory on October 23, 2026. This could be a bearish sign for the stock. Traders may want to consider selling the stock or buying put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 38 similar instances where the indicator moved out of overbought territory. In 25 of the 38 cases, the stock moved lower in the following days. This puts the odds of a move lower at 66%.
The Stochastic Oscillator may be shifting from an upward trend to a downward trend. In 27 of 62 cases where CNA's Stochastic Oscillator exited the overbought zone, the price fell further within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 44%.
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where CNA declined for three days, the price rose further in 50 of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 44%.
CNA broke above its upper Bollinger Band on October 22, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to drop as the stock moves back below the upper band and toward the middle band. You may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options.
Fundamental Analysis (Ratings)
The Tickeron Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for this company is 19 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating low risk on high returns. The average Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for the industry is 51, placing this stock better than average.
The Tickeron Valuation Rating of 34 (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is fair valued in the industry. This rating compares market capitalization estimated by our proprietary formula with the current market capitalization. This rating is based on the following metrics, as compared to industry averages: P/B Ratio (1.178) is normal, around the industry mean (-2.272). P/E Ratio (10.675) is within average values for comparable stocks, (9.206). Projected Growth (PEG Ratio) (0.060) is also within normal values, averaging (3.303). Dividend Yield (0.039) settles around the average of (0.026) among similar stocks. P/S Ratio (0.881) is also within normal values, averaging (1.594).
The Tickeron Price Growth Rating for this company is 47 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating fairly steady price growth. CNA’s price grows at a lower rate over the last 12 months as compared to S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron Seasonality Score of 50 (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is fair valued in the industry. The Tickeron Seasonality score describes the variance of predictable price changes around the same period every calendar year. These changes can be tied to a specific month, quarter, holiday or vacation period, as well as a meteorological or growing season.
The Tickeron PE Growth Rating for this company is 73 (best 1 - 100 worst), pointing to worse than average earnings growth. The PE Growth rating is based on a comparative analysis of stock PE ratio increase over the last 12 months compared against S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron SMR rating for this company is 92 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating weak sales and an unprofitable business model. SMR (Sales, Margin, Return on Equity) rating is based on comparative analysis of weighted Sales, Income Margin and Return on Equity values compared against S&P 500 index constituents. The weighted SMR value is a proprietary formula developed by Tickeron and represents an overall profitability measure for a stock.
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Fundamental Analysis Ratings
The average fundamental analysis ratings, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, are as follows
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General Information
a provider of property, casualty, and health insurance products and services
Industry PropertyCasualtyInsurance
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