Manulife Financial Corporation Q1 2026 Core Earnings Hit C$1.8B

Manulife Financial Corporation (“Manulife” or the “Company”) reported its first quarter results for the period ended March 31, 2026, delivering double-digit core EPS and new business CSM growth year over year.

​Key highlights for the first quarter of 2026 (“1Q26”) include:

• Core earnings of C$1.8 billion, up 8% on a CER basis compared with the first quarter of 2025 (“1Q25”)
• Net income attributed to shareholders of C$1.1 billion, up C$0.7 billion from 1Q25
• Core EPS of C$1.06, up 11%2 from 1Q25. EPS of C$0.65, up 178%2 from 1Q25
• Core ROE of 16.5% and ROE of 10.1%
• LICAT ratio4 of 136%
• APE sales up 7%, new business CSM up 16% and new business value (“NBV”) up 7% from 1Q25
•Global Wealth and Asset Management (“Global WAM”) net outflows5 of C$4.4 billion, compared with C$0.5 billion of net inflows in 1Q25
 
“We delivered a solid first quarter, executing our strategy and demonstrating the strength of our diversified portfolio. We generated double-digit growth in core EPS, and new business momentum continued to build, driving double-digit growth in new business CSM across all three insurance segments, despite macroeconomic uncertainty.

“Asia achieved another strong quarter, with 22% growth in core earnings and 15% growth in new business value, reflecting robust contributions from key markets in the region. In Global WAM, core EBITDA margin improved year over year, notwithstanding the impact of the eMPF transition, and Manulife | Comvest contributed positively to margin, core earnings and net inflows.

“We made sustained progress against our strategic priorities — expanding our health proposition with new partnerships in Asia and Canada, advancing Global WAM through our partnership with L&G, and further differentiating our U.S. product offerings. We scaled AI delivery across our global footprint to enhance distributor experience and improve productivity and efficiency. We remain well positioned to deliver our targets and capture growth, generating sustainable value for shareholders.” — Phil Witherington, Manulife President & Chief Executive Officer

“Our balance sheet and financial performance demonstrated resilience during a volatile quarter. Excess capital remained strong, our financial leverage ratio improved, and book value per common share increased to an all-time high. We continued to deploy capital in a disciplined manner, returning C$1.2 billion to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks, and on the acquisition of Schroders Indonesia. Core ROE was 16.5% for the quarter, an increase of 90 basis points compared with 1Q25, and our expense efficiency ratio of 46% remained in-line year over year, while continuing strategic investments in AI and reflecting the impact of the Comvest acquisition in Global WAM.” — Colin Simpson, Manulife Chief Financial Officer

Core earnings of C$1.8 billion in 1Q26, up 8% from 1Q25

The increase in core earnings reflected strong business growth in Asia and Global WAM, the net positive impact of 2025 updates to actuarial methods and assumptions, and a net improvement in insurance experience, partially offset by lower investment spreads in the U.S. and the impact of the eMPF transition in Hong Kong.
​

• Asia core earnings increased 22%, reflecting continued business growth and the net positive impact of 2025 updates to actuarial methods and assumptions, partially offset by less favourable insurance experience.
• Global WAM core earnings increased 2%, driven by higher net fee income from favourable market impacts over the past 12 months, contribution from the Manulife | Comvest business, and continued expense discipline, partially offset by the impact of the eMPF transition in Hong Kong and lower performance fees.
• Canada core earnings decreased 6%, reflecting unfavourable insurance experience in Group Insurance in 1Q26, compared with favourable experience in 1Q25. The variance in insurance experience was largely driven by higher long-term disability claims, along with higher expenses to support the growing business and transformational investment to elevate customer experience in Group Insurance. This was partially offset by business growth in the segment, the net positive impact of 2025 updates to actuarial methods and assumptions, and a lower charge in the expected credit loss provision.
• U.S. core earnings decreased 4%, primarily driven by lower investment spreads, partially offset by favourable net insurance experience in 1Q26 compared with unfavourable experience in 1Q25.
• Corporate and Other core earnings improved by C$12 million, reflecting the non-recurrence of the 1Q25 provision for the California wildfires in our P&C reinsurance business, partially offset by lower investment income and higher expenses from continued strategic investments in transformational efforts, including AI focused initiatives

 
Net Income attributed to shareholders of C$1.1 billion in 1Q26, C$0.7 billion higher compared with 1Q25
​
The C$0.7 billion increase in net income was primarily driven by a smaller net charge related to market experience and core earnings growth. The net charge from market experience in 1Q26 reflected lower-than-expected returns on public equity and lower-than-expected returns on alternative long-duration assets, mainly related to real estate, timber, and private equity investments. The market experience in 1Q25 included a C$0.7 billion realized loss related to the RGA U.S. Reinsurance Transaction from the sale of debt instruments, which was offset by an associated change in Other Comprehensive Income with a net neutral impact to book value.