Prudential Financial: First Take 2Q26 Earnings: Strong Progress in International

Research evidence excerpt

M

Update

August 5, 2026 12:06 AM GMT

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

Prudential Financial | North America

Bob Jian Huang

Equity Analyst

First Take 2Q26 Earnings:

Strong Progress in International

Jie Cheng

Research Associate

Prudential Financial (PRU.N, PRU UN)

Insurance - Life/Annuity | United States of America

AlphaSignals Earnings Reaction

Unchanged

Modest upside

Largely unchanged

Impact to our thesis

Financial results versus consensus

Direction of next 12-month

consensus EPS

Source: Company data, Morgan Stanley Research

Stock Rating

Industry View

Price target

Shr price, close (Aug 4, 2026)

Mkt cap, curr (mm)

52-Week Range

Underweight

Attractive

$92.00

$123.54

$43,276

$124.56-91.90

More volatile segment results, but directional favorable. Similar to prior quarters,

the company is making notable progress on improving the company's execution and

delivering on their strategy. While the overall results came in above expectations,

the underlying segment results were more lumpy. Strong International, PGIM and

Corporate supported earnings, partially offset by US Retirement. Higher spread

income and strong Brazil business drove the International business, which we

believe should see more growth momentum into rest of the 2026. The strength was

partially offset by the Retirement segment, where higher expenses pressured

overall segment results. Overall, while the key focus for the quarter was around

International, Corporate and Retirement, there were multiple smaller moving pieces

among Group Insurance, Individual Life, US Legacy and others. Going forward,

continued stability in PGIM results (which saw some inconsistencies over the past

five quarters), stabilizing the Japan segment and momentum in Brazil will be

important to the broader story. In our view the Japan situation prolongs the self

improvement story, but the 1H26 results indicated that progress continues to be

made.

What We Liked

• International: International adjusted operating income (AOI) of $855 million

is above consensus/MSe of $694/702 million. While POJ sales suspension

had $(105) million impacts, earnings were strong driven by higher investment

…