Allstate reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $14.31, exceeding consensus estimates by $5.59 and more than doubling the prior-year result of $7.67. Net income applicable to common shareholders reached $3.8 billion, up 100.3% year over year, while adjusted net income was $3.8 billion, an 83.7% gain. Revenue totaled $17.3 billion, a 5.1% increase over the same quarter last year, driven by higher premiums and lower catastrophe losses. The company’s return on equity climbed to 42.3%, and net margin expanded to 15.2%, reflecting strong underwriting discipline and reserve releases that improved the combined ratio by 14.0 points to 72.9.

The board approved a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, up 8% from the prior payout, equating to a 2.0% yield based on current share counts. This marks the third consecutive annual dividend increase and follows the initiation of a $4.0 billion share repurchase plan, to commence upon completion of the existing $1.5 billion program. With a dividend payout ratio of 12.95% and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, Allstate maintains ample financial flexibility to support both growth initiatives and shareholder distributions.

The Property-Liability unit delivered $14.8 billion in earned premiums, up 6.1% year over year, and underwriting income surged 118.7% to $4.0 billion. Auto insurance policies in force rose 2.3% to 25.5 million, driving a 3.1% increase in written premiums, while the combined ratio improved 12.7 points to 80.8. Homeowners insurance saw premiums written climb 13.4% to $4.1 billion, with the combined ratio tightening by 14.5 points to 55.3 and underwriting profit of $1.8 billion. Reserve releases contributed a 7.5-point benefit to the auto loss ratio and non-catastrophe reserve releases supported margin expansion across both lines.