5 August 2026
If you are covering Legal & General's latest results, please see the following comment from Phil Ross, equity research analyst at Quilter Cheviot:
"Legal & General has delivered a very strong set of results, beating expectations in almost every area and coming in around 4% ahead of consensus overall. Just as importantly, management has raised full-year guidance above the top end of its previous range, with earnings per share now expected to grow by more than 9% after delivering 11% growth in the period.
"The biggest division, Institutional Retirement, produced a solid performance, with operating profit ahead of expectations and pension risk transfer volumes remaining healthy in what can be a lumpy market. Asset Management was the clear standout, with strong growth driven by higher-margin strategies such as private markets, helping improve fee margins, while assets under management grew to over £1.2 trillion.
"Retail Retirement also performed well, supported by better annuity margins, while, importantly, capital generation came in comfortably ahead of expectations. That should help allay concerns around dividend affordability and reinforce confidence in the group's capital return plans.
"The shares have already enjoyed a strong run, supported by the £1.2 billion buyback programme and Meiji Yasuda's strategic investment. Today's results look strong enough to justify that re-rating. While the valuation is no longer especially cheap, investors are still getting a 7.5% dividend yield alongside a sizeable buyback programme, leaving us comfortable maintaining our Buy recommendation."
