Legal and General: 1H26 Initial Take - Headline beat, but look out for the detail

Research evidence excerpt

M

Update

August 5, 2026 07:03 AM GMT

Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc+

Legal and General | Europe

Alexa Psillos, FASSA

Equity Analyst

1H26 Initial Take - Headline beat,

but look out for the detail

Hadley Cohen

Equity Analyst

Daniel Wilson-Omordia

Equity Analyst

AlphaSignals Earnings Reaction

Legal and General (LGEN.L, LGEN LN)

Unchanged

Modest upside

Modest revision higher

Impact to our thesis

Financial results versus consensus

Direction of next 12-month

consensus EPS

Insurance | United Kingdom

£883m), with the beat mainly driven by solid performance in Asset Management.

Stock Rating

Industry View

Price target

Shr price, close (Aug 4, 2026)

52-Week Range

Mkt cap, curr (mn)

Net debt (12/26e) (mn)*

EV, curr (mn)*

However, there are a couple of moving pieces in these results worth noting when

* = GAAP or approximated based on GAAP

Source: Company data, Morgan Stanley Research

Legal & General reported its 1H26 numbers this morning. Overall, the results were

ahead of consensus, with core operating profit at £918m (4% ahead of cons at

Underweight

In-Line

230p

303p

310-217p

£18,349

£18,378

we dig a bit deeper.

Guidance was raised for asset optimisation (from >£300m p.a. to >£400m p.a.) and

for core operating EPS growth over FY26, where guidance was previously for

growth at the top-end of the 6-9% range, raised to growth above the top-end of the

range for FY26.

Institutional Retirement: Small beat on operating profit, coming in at £646m (1.7%

ahead of cons for £635m), mainly driven by higher levels of asset optimisation. First

half PRT volumes were £2.1bn, with the YTD number at £5.2bn for UK PRT and

£5.7bn for Global PRT (on track versus VA consensus for £12bn at FY26). NB CSM

came in at £29m, implying a 1.4% NB margin, roughly half of the c.3% from 1H25,

driven by competition and tighter credit spreads – this will likely be a key focus

during the earnings call this morning.

Asset Management: Asset Management results were the highlight of this morning's

print, showing decent progress towards 2028 targets. Operating profit of £222m

came in 7% ahead of consensus for £207m, and the CIR dropped to 71% (from 75%

at FY25), driven by business mix effects.

…