Insurance and retirement company Lincoln National (NYSE: LNC) reported revenue ahead of Wall Street’s expectations in Q1 CY2026, with sales up 13.3% year on year to $5.31 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.66 per share was 4% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

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“Our first quarter results reflect continued disciplined execution and consistent, meaningful progress against our strategic priorities," said Ellen Cooper, Chairman, President and CEO of Lincoln Financial.

Company Overview

Founded in 1905 by a group of Fort Wayne, Indiana businessmen who named the company after Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE: LNC) provides insurance, retirement plans, and wealth management products through its subsidiaries, operating under four main segments: Annuities, Life Insurance, Group Protection, and Retirement Plan Services.

Revenue Growth

Insurance companies earn revenue from three primary sources: 1) The core insurance business itself, often called underwriting and represented in the income statement as premiums 2) Income from investing the “float” (premiums collected upfront not yet paid out as claims) in assets such as fixed-income assets and equities 3) Fees from various sources such as policy administration, annuities, or other value-added services. Over the last five years, Lincoln Financial Group grew its revenue at a weak 1.4% compounded annual growth rate. This fell short of our benchmarks 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. Lincoln Financial Group’s annualized revenue growth of 11.1% over the last two years is above its five-year trend, suggesting its demand recently accelerated. 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, Lincoln Financial Group reported year-on-year revenue growth of 13.3%, and its $5.31 billion of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 7.9%.

Net premiums earned made up 63% of the company’s total revenue during the last five years, meaning insurance operations are Lincoln Financial Group’s largest source of revenue.

While insurers generate revenue from multiple sources, investors view net premiums earned as the cornerstone - its direct link to core operations stands in sharp contrast to the unpredictability of investment returns and fees.

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Book Value Per Share (BVPS)

Insurers are balance sheet businesses, collecting premiums upfront and paying out claims over time. Premiums collected but not yet paid out, often referred to as the float, are invested and create 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. While other (and more commonly known) per-share metrics like EPS can sometimes be lumpy due to reserve releases or one-time items and can be managed or skewed while still following accounting rules, BVPS reflects long-term capital growth and is harder to manipulate.

Lincoln Financial Group’s BVPS declined at a 14.1% annual clip over the last five years. However, BVPS growth has accelerated recently, growing by 11.4% annually over the last two years from $38.58 to $47.87 per share.

Over the next 12 months, Consensus estimates call for Lincoln Financial Group’s BVPS to grow by 64.6% to $73.12, elite growth rate.

Key Takeaways from Lincoln Financial Group’s Q1 Results

We were impressed by how significantly Lincoln Financial Group blew past analysts’ revenue expectations this quarter. On the other hand, its book value per share missed. Overall, this was a weaker quarter. The stock remained flat at $37.51 immediately following the results.

Lincoln Financial Group didn’t show it’s best hand this quarter, but does that create an opportunity to buy the stock right now? What happened in the latest quarter matters, but not as much as longer-term business quality and valuation, when deciding whether to invest in this stock. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).