Insurance services company CNO Financial Group (NYSE: CNO) beat Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q1 CY2026, with sales up 8.5% year on year to $1.03 billion. Its GAAP profit of $0.39 per share was 57.9% below analysts’ consensus estimates.
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CNO Financial Group (CNO) Q1 CY2026 Highlights:
- Net Premiums Earned: $673.4 million (3.5% year-on-year growth)
- Revenue: $1.03 billion vs analyst estimates of $997.7 million (8.5% year-on-year growth, 3.2% beat)
- Pre-tax Profit: $48.4 million (4.7% margin)
- EPS (GAAP): $0.39 vs analyst expectations of $0.93 (57.9% miss)
- Book Value per Share: $26.64 vs analyst estimates of $40.03 (5.2% year-on-year growth, 33.4% miss)
- Market Capitalization: $4.19 billion
"CNO is off to a strong start to 2026, building on the momentum from our excellent performance in 2025," said Gary C. Bhojwani, chief executive officer.
Company Overview
Rebranded from Conseco in 2010 to signal a fresh start after navigating financial challenges, CNO Financial Group (NYSE: CNO) develops and markets health insurance, annuities, and life insurance products primarily targeting middle-income pre-retirees and retirees.
Revenue Growth
Insurers earn revenue three ways. The core insurance business itself, often called underwriting and represented in the income statement as premiums earned, is one way. Investment income from investing the “float” (premiums collected upfront not yet paid out as claims) in assets such as fixed-income assets and equities is the second way. Fees from various sources such as policy administration, annuities, or other value-added services is the third. Over the last five years, CNO Financial Group grew its revenue at a sluggish 2.1% compounded annual growth rate. This was below our standards and is a tough starting point for our analysis.
We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within financials, a half-decade historical view may miss recent interest rate changes, market returns, and industry trends. CNO Financial Group’s annualized revenue growth of 4.6% over the last two years is above its five-year trend, which is encouraging. 
Note: Quarters not shown were determined to be outliers, impacted by outsized investment gains/losses that are not indicative of the recurring fundamentals of the business.
This quarter, CNO Financial Group reported year-on-year revenue growth of 8.5%, and its $1.03 billion of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 3.2%.
Net premiums earned made up 68.5% of the company’s total revenue during the last five years, meaning insurance operations are CNO Financial Group’s largest source of revenue.
Markets consistently prioritize net premiums earned growth over investment and fee income, recognizing its superior quality as a core indicator of the company’s underwriting success and market penetration.
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Book Value Per Share (BVPS)
Insurance companies are balance sheet businesses, collecting premiums upfront and paying out claims over time. The float–premiums collected but not yet paid out–are invested, creating an asset base supported by a liability structure. Book value per share (BVPS) captures this dynamic by measuring these assets (investment portfolio, cash, reinsurance recoverables) less liabilities (claim reserves, debt, future policy benefits). BVPS is essentially the residual value for shareholders.
We therefore consider BVPS very important to track for insurers and a metric that sheds light on business quality because it reflects long-term capital growth and is harder to manipulate than more commonly-used metrics like EPS.
CNO Financial Group’s BVPS declined at a 6.2% annual clip over the last five years. However, BVPS growth has accelerated recently, growing by 10.5% annually over the last two years from $21.81 to $26.64 per share.
Over the next 12 months, Consensus estimates call for CNO Financial Group’s BVPS to grow by 61% to $40.03, elite growth rate.
Key Takeaways from CNO Financial Group’s Q1 Results
We enjoyed seeing CNO Financial Group beat analysts’ revenue expectations this quarter. On the other hand, its EPS missed and its book value per share fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this quarter could have been better. The stock remained flat at $44.42 immediately after reporting.
Should you buy the stock or not? When making that decision, it’s important to consider its valuation, business qualities, as well as what has happened in the latest quarter. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
