Arthur J. Gallagher reports Q4 EPS $1.37, consensus $2.03

Reports Q4 revenue $2.68B, consensus $2.7B. “We had an excellent Q4, to close out a great year!” said J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr., CEO. “Our core brokerage and risk management segments combined to deliver our 16th consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth, including organic revenue growth of 7%. Our Q4 net earnings margin and adjusted EBITDAC margins increased to 13.5% and 31.4%, respectively, and adjusted EBITDAC grew 17%. We also completed 20 new mergers in the quarter, bringing our full year total to 48 mergers and $387M of estimated annualized revenue. And in early December, we announced the acquisition of AssuredPartners, a commercial middle-market retail and specialty broker with $2.9B of pro-forma revenue. Overall, the global P/C insurance market continues to grow with fourth quarter primary renewal premium increases, both rate and exposure combined, consistent with the past two quarters. Thus far, January 2025 primary renewal premium increases are ticking slightly higher than fourth quarter and are above 5% driven by increases in casualty classes like umbrella and commercial auto. January 1, 2025 reinsurance renewals were orderly and reflected an environment that favored property and specialty reinsurance buyers, while casualty reinsurance programs generally experienced increases”.