Equitable Holdings Delivers Strong Growth and Advances Merger with Corbridge, On Track to Close by Year-End

Equitable Holdings, Inc. reported strong growth in earnings and positive net flows across each of its segments during the second quarter 2026, as highlighted on a recent conference call.

The company made significant progress in advancing its transformational merger with Corbridge, with shareholders of both companies approving the merger last week. The merged company is expected to have the capabilities, distribution breadth, and scale needed to be a long-term winner in each of the attractive, growing markets across U.S. retirement, life insurance, institutional, and asset and wealth management.

Mark Pearson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Equitable Holdings, noted that the new company will deliver at least 10% accretion to earnings and cash flow per share by the end of 2028 and produce a 15% plus return on equity (ROE) on a capital base of over $30 billion. He expressed confidence that as the company executes the merger and validates its competitive advantages, it will translate into a higher valuation over time.

During the quarter, Equitable reported non-GAAP operating earnings per share of $1.70 or $1.75 excluding notable items, representing a 24% year-over-year increase, consistent with guidance of EPS growth of greater than 15% in 2026. The company also ended the quarter with record assets under management and administration of $1.2 trillion, up 10% year-over-year, driven by positive net flows and uplift from favorable equity markets.

Equitable returned $449 million of capital to shareholders during the quarter, including $366 million of share repurchases, representing a 92% payout ratio. This was achieved after being in blackout for a portion of the first quarter, taking advantage of an attractive valuation to accelerate buybacks.

The company's progress on achieving merger approvals and beginning to integrate the two companies was also highlighted during the conference call. On July 30th, shareholders of both Equitable and Corbridge approved the merger, with over 97% voting in support of the transaction. The federal antitrust review process has been completed, and all required regulatory approvals have been filed.

Equitable remains confident in delivering on its financial targets provided at the time of announcement, including achieving meaningful expense, revenue, and capital synergies from the merger. The company is focused on achieving its 2026 financial targets and is not treating this as a gap year while looking forward to day one for the new Equitable.