CNO Financial Group, Inc. CNO, a provider of health and life insurance, annuities and financial services, is set to report third-quarter 2026 results on Oct. 29, after the closing bell. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter’s earnings is currently pegged at $1.09 per share on revenues of $993 million.
The third-quarter earnings estimate has remained unchanged over the past 60 days. The bottom-line estimate implies a 13.5% year-over-year increase, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues indicates a 16.7% decline from the year-ago level.
For 2026, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNO Financial’s revenues is pegged at $4.02 billion, indicating an 11.2% year-over-year decline. The earnings estimate is pegged at $4.74 per share, implying a 16.2% year-over-year increase.
CNO beat the consensus estimate for earnings in each of the last four quarters, with the average surprise being 23.2%. This performance is illustrated in the figure below.
CNO Financial Group, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
CNO Financial Group, Inc. price-eps-surprise | CNO Financial Group, Inc. Quote
Q3 Earnings Whispers for CNO
Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for the company this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy), or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. That’s not the case here.
CNO currently has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Factors at Play
CNO Financial’s third-quarter revenues are likely to have been affected by weaker Consumer life sales and lower fee revenues. Sustained sales growth in health, Medicare Supplement, annuity, and Worksite insurance products could have partly offset the negatives.
Higher net investment income, supported by portfolio yields and business growth, is likely to have aided earnings. Insurance product margins are likely to have benefited from business growth and broadly favorable claims experience.
However, continued technology modernization expenses and a rise in total benefits and expenses as a result of higher insurance policy benefits may have weighed on profit growth.
Stocks That Warrant a Look
While an earnings beat looks uncertain for CNO, here are some companies from the broader Finance space that you may want to consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this time around:
