Generali closes a growing first quarter, despite the weight of natural disasters and a tax burden coming from France. The group led by Philippe Donnet exceeds market expectations, confirms the targets of the industrial plan and also leaves open the front of possible partnerships, starting with the Unicredit dossier. The accounts, above expectations, were also well received on the Stock Exchange, with the stock rising sharply in the early trading hours at Piazza Affari.
ACCOUNTS ABOVE EXPECTATIONS
The first quarter numbers show growth in almost all the group’s main activities, from Life to Non-Life to asset management.
Generali accelerates in the first three months of 2026. The Lion closes the quarter with gross premiums up 6.8% to 28.2 billion euros, an operating result up 8.1% to 2.235 billion and a normalized net profit of 1.266 billion, up 5.2%.
Reported net profit, however, falls by 2.2%, stopping at 1.169 billion. The main factors were the performance of financial markets and an extraordinary tax issue in France.
The results exceed analysts’ expectations and the market reacts well: Generali’s stock rises over +2% in the early hours of trading at Piazza Affari.
The quarterly results were driven mainly by Life and asset and wealth management, while in the Non-Life segment the group had to deal with a much heavier impact from natural disasters compared to a year ago, especially in Portugal.
“The first quarter results confirm the success of the strategic plan implementation,” said Chief Financial Officer Cristiano Borean, speaking of growth “across all segments.”
The CFO emphasized especially the “very robust commercial performance” of Life and the improvement in the technical profitability of Non-Life, despite the increase in catastrophic events. “With a solid balance sheet and a robust capital position, we are focused on creating sustainable value,” he added.
Capital solidity remains high: the Solvency Ratio falls to 212% from 219% at the end of 2025, mainly due to market movements and some technical factors related to capital.
THE WEIGHT OF THE FRENCH TAX AUTHORITIES
The accounts were mainly affected by France, where Generali had to record about 50 million euros of higher taxes related to a retroactive surcharge decided by the French government.
Borean explained that this is a one-off effect referring to the 2025 fiscal year, fully accounted for in the first quarter. For 2026, however, the higher tax burden will be spread over the year, with an overall impact estimated at around 40 million.
Without this extraordinary tax effect, the group specified, normalized net profit would have grown by 9.3%, while normalized earnings per share would have increased by 10.2%.
LIFE DRIVES GROWTH
The strongest part of the quarter remains Life. Premiums rise by 7.5% to 17.2 billion euros and net inflows grow from 3 to 4.3 billion.
The main driver is traditional savings policies, which grow by over 21%, mainly thanks to Asia. Also performing well are policies linked to financial markets and hybrid products, supported particularly by the French market.
New production also rises, reaching 18.3 billion, while the value of new policies sold grows by 19.1% to 977 million.
Profitability of the segment also improves, favored by more profitable products and still high interest rates.
In the end, the operating result of Life rises by almost 10% and exceeds 1 billion euros, reaching 1.09 billion.
NATURAL DISASTERS, PORTUGAL BEARS THE BURDEN
The Non-Life business also continues to grow. Premiums increase by 5.8% and approach 11 billion euros, with positive trends both in Auto policies and in non-Auto policies.
What changes the picture of the quarter, however, are mainly extreme weather events, which have hit the accounts much harder than a year ago.
Natural disasters cost Generali 426 million euros in the first three months of 2026, compared to 48 million in the same period of 2025. The biggest weight came from Portugal, one of the group’s most important markets.
During the results call, Borean spoke of a “very unusual quarter compared to the historical average” on the natural events front, recalling that Generali has a 22% market share in Portugal. “Others were events in Spain, small things in France and some frost in Northern Europe,” explained the group’s CFO.
The impact is also visible on the indicator measuring the technical profitability of the Non-Life branch, which worsened compared to a year ago.
Despite this, the segment’s operating result still grows by 1.2% and exceeds one billion euros, reaching 1.041 billion.
Net of natural disasters, however, the insurance business continues to improve, with a more favorable trend in ordinary claims compared to last year.
GOOD RESULTS FOR BANCA GENERALI AND ASSET MANAGEMENT
The business linked to asset management and financial advisory also continues to grow. In the first three months of 2026, the segment’s operating result rises by 15.5% to 314 million euros. An important part comes from Banca Generali, which contributes 172 million, up almost 18% compared to a year ago.
In the quarter, the bank led by Gian Maria Mossa also recorded new inflows of 1.9 billion euros.
Overall, the group manages about 905 billion euros of assets. Of these, 387 billion belong to clients outside the group, while 277 billion are managed directly by asset management activities.
Generali also confirms its intention to continue strengthening the asset management and financial advisory business, including through the integration of Intermonte and the development of the insurbanking project.
THE UNICREDIT DOSSIER REMAINS OPEN
And it is precisely around asset management and bancassurance that the Unicredit dossier continues to move, relaunched in recent weeks, with the group led by Andrea Orcel rising to 8.7% of Generali.
Borean did not close the door to possible partnerships. “We are fully focused on executing the strategic plan,” said the Lion’s CFO, adding that Generali “evaluates all relevant opportunities that can accelerate growth or support the business.”
A cautious line, but one that leaves open the issue of possible industrial collaborations.
General Manager Marco Sesana Terziaroli also reiterated the same line: “We are open to opportunities that can support the group’s growth.”
TARGETS CONFIRMED AND INVESTOR DAY IN LONDON
Generali confirms all the objectives of the 2025-2027 industrial plan. The group aims for annual earnings per share growth between 8% and 10%, over 11 billion in cumulative cash generation and more than 7 billion in dividends over the three years. The buyback program for at least 1.5 billion in total is also confirmed.
Borean insisted on the group’s ability to withstand even more difficult geopolitical scenarios. “The plan’s targets will not be challenged even in extreme scenarios,” said the CFO, adding that the group’s results “are not at risk.”
Generali will hold its next investor day on November 18 in London. But, Borean specified, there will be no update of the targets.
