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what it is
Unum sells workplace insurance like disability, life, and leave benefits that your employer can add to your paycheck system.
how it gets paid
Last year Unum made $13.1B in revenue. Unum U.S. was the main engine at $8.65B, or 66% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 1.5% last year. Management said it is still managing against higher costs.
what just happened
On the Feb 5, 2026 Q4 2025 release, Unum reported net income $174.1M ($1.04 diluted EPS) vs. $348.7M ($1.92 diluted EPS) in Q4 2024, and after-tax adjusted operating income of $322.3M ($1.92 per share) in Q4 2025. FY 2026 outlook: adjusted operating EPS $8.60–$8.90.
At a glance
B++ balance sheet — above average — nothing keeping you up at night
85/100 earnings predictability — you can trust these numbers
9.2x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
2.5% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
12.3% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 53/100 — below average
What they do
Unum sells workplace insurance like disability, life, and leave benefits that your employer can add to your paycheck system.
This business sits inside the workplace. Your employer plugs Unum into benefits, payroll, and claims, and Unum U.S. alone drives 66% of consolidated sales. That setup creates switching costs (switching costs → changing vendors is a hassle → so what: sticky employer accounts are hard to steal).
How they make money
$13.1B
annual revenue · their business grew +1.5% last year
Unum U.S.
$8.65B
Colonial Life
$2.23B
Unum International
$1.18B
Closed Block
$1.05B
The products that matter
underwrites insurance policies
insurance operations
$13.1B · company-level revenue shown here
this page only provides the full-company revenue line, but that $13.1B base grew just 1.5% last year. if growth stays this slow, execution matters more than expansion.
entire reported business
Key numbers
9.2x
trailing p/e
Price-to-earnings → how much you pay for each dollar of profit → so what: you are paying a single-digit multiple against management’s $8.60–$8.90 adjusted operating EPS outlook for 2026.
$8.60–$8.90
2026 adj. operating EPS outlook
Management’s Feb 5, 2026 guidance range for after-tax adjusted operating income per share. Compare to any “street” GAAP estimate carefully—they are not the same metric.
12.3%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit generated from the money used in the business → so what: this is solid, but not so high that execution mistakes disappear.
2.5%
dividend yield
Dividend yield → cash paid to you each year as a percent of the stock price → so what: you get paid to wait, but the main story is still valuation.
Financial health
B++
strength
- balance sheet grade B++ — above average financial health
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 65 / 100
- long-term debt $3.5B (21% of capital)
- return on equity 12% — $0.12 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B++ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in UNM 3 years ago → it's now worth $21,260.
The index would have given you $13,920.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
GAAP vs adjusted
Q4 2025: GAAP diluted EPS $1.04 (vs. $1.92 in Q4 2024); after-tax adjusted operating EPS $1.92.
The same $1.92 figure means different things year over year: in Q4 2025 it is adjusted operating EPS; in Q4 2024 it was GAAP diluted EPS—do not merge the two lines. Source: Unum Group Q4 2025 release (Business Wire / company materials, Feb 5, 2026).
$1.04
GAAP diluted EPS
$1.92
adj. operating EPS
$8.60–$8.90
2026 outlook
how to read it
GAAP net income fell YoY on investment and benefit dynamics; adjusted operating EPS held at $1.92—the metric management emphasizes for segment trends.
-
unum group continues to manage against higher costs.
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although the quarterly income (i.e., revenue) advance accelerated to about 5% vs. prior year in the september interim, benefits payments rose even faster.note that the third quarter is typically when the life insurer updates its annual reserve assumptions for gaap purposes. this year's re-measurements, which swung to a large pre-tax loss from a gain in 2024, were most impacted by experience updates for unum's long-term care unit.
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and, even though we eliminate much of these non-cash accruals from our results presentation, the adjusted benefits ratio still rose around 200 basis points from last year's level, to 86.6%.
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thus, comparative earnings per share of $2.09 declined modestly.
-
although the figure matched our september call, it trailed the street's estimate for the third-consecutive quarter.
source: Unum Group Q4 2025 earnings release (Feb 5, 2026) — e.g. Business Wire / Yahoo Finance redistribution
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is claims costs or reserve assumptions outrunning growth at a $13.1B insurer.
high
claims and reserve pressure
insurers make money when pricing and claims line up. if disability, life, or related claims run worse than expected, a low multiple can get lower fast. this page does not include reserve detail, so you are relying on the earnings record staying clean.
with revenue up just 1.5%, there is not much growth cushion for a pricing mistake
med
slow growth becomes the whole story
$13.1B in revenue only grew 1.5% last year. if that slips toward flat or negative, investors stop seeing a cheap compounder and start seeing a value trap.
a stock at 9.2x earnings only rerates if the business proves it is still moving forward
med
institutional sponsorship keeps fading
in 3q2025, 397 institutions sold versus 257 that bought. one quarter does not make a trend, but repeated net selling would matter for a stock already near the top of its 52-week range.
ownership data says the stock has holders, but not broad momentum behind it
the combined risk picture is simple: UNM does not need fast growth, but it does need to protect the current $13.1B revenue base and keep earnings dependable enough to justify the low multiple.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
valuation
whether $8.60–$8.90 adjusted operating EPS guidance holds
that estimate is the bridge between a cheap stock and a merely cheap-looking one.
earnings
the next report for top-line acceleration
revenue only grew 1.5% last year. you want to see that number improve, not stall.
risk
any sign the earnings profile gets less predictable
85/100 predictability is part of the thesis. if surprises start showing up, the valuation case weakens.
ownership
whether institutional flow stays negative
257 buyers versus 397 sellers in 3q2025 is manageable once. repeated quarters would be louder.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
85 / 100
in human-speak, analysts think this company usually does what it says it will do.
price stability
65 / 100
the stock is steadier than many equities, but it is still a stock, not a savings account.
risk rank
3
that puts UNM around the middle of the safety spectrum. not fragile, not untouchable.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
257 buyers vs. 397 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.1B shares.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$64
$127
$77
current price
$96
target midpoint · +24% from current · 3-5yr high: $100 (+30% · 9% ann'l return)
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