Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) · Nov 2, 2026 · Earnings
Beat — Operating EPS $2.13 vs ~$1.86 consensus
Equitable earnings beat Q3 EPS expectations, helped by retirement and wealth management, while revenue and active asset-management flows remained pressured.
Equitable is building a more capital-light financial-services platform around retirement, AllianceBernstein asset management, and wealth management, with the Corebridge combination expected to be the next major strategic step.
The quarter cleared the main earnings bar, but not cleanly. Non-GAAP operating earnings rose to $595 million, or $2.13 per share, versus $455 million and $1.48 a year earlier; the per-share result was above the published consensus of roughly $1.86. Revenue of $3.881 billion, however, came in below the roughly $3.95 billion expectation. That makes this an earnings beat rather than a broad-based upside surprise. (Consolidated Statements of Income; Key Metrics Summary)
| Metric | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Consensus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-GAAP operating EPS (Key Metrics Summary) | $2.13 (+43.9%) | $1.48 | ~$1.86 |
| Non-GAAP operating earnings (Key Metrics Summary) | $595M (+30.8%) | $455M | |
| Total revenues (Consolidated Statements of Income) | $3.881B | $1.450B | ~$3.95B |
| Asset Management net flows (Select Operating Metrics) | $6.6B | $(2.3B) | |
| Wealth Management advisory net new assets (Select Operating Metrics) | $2.724B (+23.2%) | $2.210B |
Retirement and wealth management did most of the work. Retirement operating earnings increased to $432 million from $405 million, while Wealth Management rose to $75 million from $59 million. Wealth also produced $2.724 billion of advisory net new assets, and Retirement first-year premiums and deposits reached $6.195 billion, showing continued demand for the company’s newer growth engines. (Operating Earnings by Segment; Wealth Management Select Operating Metrics; Retirement Select Operating Metrics)
Asset management improved its headline flows, but the mix remains a warning sign. AllianceBernstein generated $6.6 billion of quarterly net inflows, led by $15.0 billion into alternatives and multi-asset solutions. But active equity strategies lost $12.5 billion in the quarter and $34.0 billion year to date, while quarterly operating earnings slipped to $152 million from $154 million. The business is attracting money in higher-growth alternatives, but its traditional active-equity franchise is still leaking assets. (Asset Management Select Operating Metrics; Asset Management Net Flows)
The accounting profit is much stronger than the reported capital picture. GAAP net income attributable to Holdings was $1.121 billion, but common equity remained negative at $(2.871) billion because accumulated other comprehensive losses widened to $(8.286) billion. Excluding AOCI, common equity improved to $5.415 billion and operating ROE reached 39.0%, so the underlying capital measure is healthier than the headline balance sheet — but the gap remains material. (Key Metrics Summary; Equity Reconciliation)
Bottom line: This was a real operating-earnings beat, powered by retirement and wealth management, but the revenue miss and continued active-equity outflows keep it from being a clean reset of the story. The quarter modestly strengthens execution; it does not remove the asset-management and capital-structure complications already facing Equitable.
Corebridge merger closing, targeted by year-end 2026
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