Loews' Q2 2026 EPS rose 15.5% to $2.16 as higher investment income, hotel room rates, pipeline contract rates and buybacks outweighed weaker underwriting at CNA, whose P&C combined ratio worsened to 96.5%.
Net premiums written
$3.0B
+4.2% YoY
Combined ratio
96.5%
Net income
$444M
+13.6% YoY
Diluted EPS
$2.16
+15.5% YoY
Loss ratio
66.4%
Catastrophe losses
$60M
Book value per share
$93.52
Net premiums written (NPW): insurance sold in the period, after the share passed on to reinsurers. Combined ratio: claims plus expenses per dollar of premium earned; below 100% means the insurance business itself made money before investment income. Loss ratio: the claims part alone.
Q2 2026: EPS up 15.5% to $2.16 as investment income, hotels and pipelines outweigh a weaker underwriting quarter at CNA
Loews Corporation is a holding company: most of its earnings come from three businesses it controls — CNA Financial (a commercial property and casualty insurer, about 92% owned), Boardwalk Pipelines (natural gas and liquids pipelines and storage, wholly owned) and Loews Hotels & Co (wholly owned) — plus a parent-level "Corporate" segment that holds cash and investments and a 53% stake in Altium Packaging.
For the quarter ended June 30, 2026, net income attributable to Loews shareholders rose 13.6% to $444 million, and earnings per share rose 15.5% to $2.16 from $1.87. Per the 10-Q, the increase was "primarily driven by higher net income at CNA, Loews Hotels & Co and Boardwalk Pipelines." All three segments grew, but the reasons differ, and at CNA the growth came from the investment side while the core insurance business got less profitable.
Key figures
Metric
Q2 2026
Q2 2025
YoY Change
Total revenues
$4,734M
$4,555M
+3.9%
Net income attributable to Loews
$444M
$391M
+13.6%
Diluted EPS
$2.16
$1.87
+15.5%
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Pre-tax margin (our calculation: pre-tax income ÷ total revenues)
12.9%
11.8%
+1.1 pts
Diluted weighted-average shares
205.57M
209.36M
-1.8%
CNA P&C net written premiums
$2,965M
$2,846M
+4.2%
CNA P&C combined ratio
96.5%
94.1%
+2.4 pts
CNA P&C underlying combined ratio
94.2%
91.7%
+2.5 pts
CNA P&C loss ratio
66.4%
63.9%
+2.5 pts
CNA P&C catastrophe losses (pre-tax)
$60M
$62M
-3.2%
Book value per share (Loews)
$93.52 (Jun 30, 2026)
$90.71 (Dec 31, 2025)
+3.1% vs. year-end
The CNA ratios are for CNA's Property & Casualty Operations only, as reported in Loews' 10-Q; the pre-tax margin is our own derived figure, since a holding company that mixes insurance, pipelines and hotels has no single meaningful "operating margin."
Net income by segment
Segment (net income attributable to Loews)
Q2 2026
Q2 2025
Change
CNA Financial
$294M
$274M
+$20M
Boardwalk Pipelines
$100M
$88M
+$12M
Loews Hotels & Co
$48M
$28M
+$20M
Corporate
$2M
$1M
+$1M
Total
$444M
$391M
+$53M
CNA: more income from investments, less from underwriting
CNA is two-thirds of Loews' earnings, so it sets the tone. An insurer makes money in two ways: underwriting (collecting more in premiums than it pays in claims and expenses) and investing the premiums it holds before claims are paid. This quarter the two moved in opposite directions.
Investments improved. CNA's net investment income rose $39 million to $701 million, "driven by higher limited partnership and common stock returns, as well as higher income from fixed income securities as a result of a larger invested asset base and favorable reinvestment rates." Separately, CNA's realized investment losses shrank from $46 million to $5 million pre-tax. After tax and the minority stake, that swing alone was worth about $33 million to Loews ($36 million of investment losses in Q2 2025 versus $3 million in Q2 2026, per the core-income reconciliation), which is more than CNA's whole $20 million improvement.
Underwriting got worse. The combined ratio — claims plus expenses as a share of premiums earned, where anything below 100% means the insurance itself made money — rose to 96.5% from 94.1%. Pre-tax underwriting gain fell to $92 million from $150 million. The problem was not catastrophes: severe-weather losses were $60 million, slightly below last year's $62 million, and prior-year reserve changes in P&C were a small $6 million favorable. The deterioration was in the underlying loss ratio (claims excluding catastrophes and prior-year reserve changes, i.e. the run-rate cost of this year's policies), which rose to 64.1% from 61.5%:
Commercial: combined ratio up 1.7 points to 96.5%, "primarily driven by a higher underlying loss ratio in excess casualty and workers' compensation," partly offset by a lower expense ratio.
Specialty: combined ratio up 2.9 points to 96.5%, from "a higher underlying loss ratio across various lines."
International: combined ratio up 4.1 points to 96.9%, with a higher loss ratio and a 2.0-point higher expense ratio from "continued investments in talent and technology and higher acquisition costs." Excluding currency moves, International's net written premiums fell $11 million on lower pricing.
As a result, CNA's core income (its preferred measure, which strips out investment gains and losses) fell to $324 million from $335 million. In plain terms: CNA's reported profit rose only because investment results improved; the insurance business on its own earned less.
Premium volume still grew: net written premiums rose 4.2% to $2,965 million, led by Commercial (+$80 million, from renewal premium increases and new business) and Specialty (+$45 million, from new business and rate).
The recurring legacy charge. CNA's Other Insurance Operations (run-off long-term care and old asbestos/pollution and mass-tort liabilities) took a $77 million after-tax charge for adverse prior-year reserve development "largely associated with legacy mass tort abuse reserves," versus an $88 million charge in Q2 2025. That is the second straight second quarter with a charge of this size, which makes it look less like a one-off than the label suggests.
Boardwalk Pipelines: higher pipeline rates, but part of the gain is below the operating line
Boardwalk's net income rose $12 million to $100 million, but EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — a rough gauge of the cash the pipelines generate) rose only $5 million, to $279 million. The gap comes from depreciation falling $8 million and interest expense falling $4 million, which lift net income without the core business earning more.
Revenue rose $39 million: natural gas transportation revenue rose $14 million on "higher contracting rates and growth project revenues," and product sales rose $22 million, of which $18 million came from the newly acquired Boardwalk Continuum Marketing (formerly Spire Marketing, bought April 30, 2026). Costs ate most of that: operating expenses rose $27 million, including $18 million more in general and administrative costs (more staff, including Continuum's, and deal costs) and a $9 million storage gas loss adjustment.
The bigger story is the capital program. Boardwalk has signed agreements for growth projects adding 4.5 billion cubic feet per day of pipeline capacity and 10 Bcf of storage, at an expected cost of about $3.4 billion through 2030, driven by LNG export and power-generation demand. Only $381 million had been spent by June 30. Capital expenditures in the first half were $344 million, up from $122 million, and will keep rising; the projects earn nothing until they receive regulatory approval and go into service.
Loews Hotels: room rates and the Universal Orlando joint venture
Hotel net income rose to $48 million from $28 million. Operating revenue grew $23 million (+10.4%) on "a higher overall average daily rate and an increase in the number of occupied room nights across most of its portfolio, particularly at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel following the conclusion of its renovation." Equity income from joint ventures (Loews' share of profits from hotels it co-owns) rose $12 million to $41 million, driven by the Universal Orlando Resort properties, including three hotels that opened in 2025. Lower interest expense on debt refinanced in 2025 added $3 million.
Corporate, capital and buybacks
Corporate was roughly break-even ($2 million). Parent-level trading-portfolio income rose $8 million, offset by a larger loss from Altium Packaging ($14 million vs. $11 million), which the filing attributes to "the timing impact of higher resin costs," since customer price increases catch up only over time.
Buybacks explain part of the EPS gain: Loews bought back 1.4 million shares for $148 million in the quarter, and diluted share count fell 1.8% year over year, so EPS (+15.5%) grew faster than net income (+13.6%). The parent held $4.4 billion of cash and investments against $1.8 billion of debt at June 30, up from $3.9 billion at year-end, helped by $735 million of dividends from CNA in the first half (including a $497 million special dividend) and $150 million from Boardwalk.
Takeaway: Loews' 13.6% profit growth is real but not driven by insurance. CNA's underlying underwriting got worse in all three P&C segments (underlying combined ratio up 2.5 points to 94.2%), and CNA's core income fell. The quarter was carried by investment income, smaller investment losses, hotel pricing, and a buyback-shrunk share count. If investment returns normalize, the underwriting trend will show up in Loews' earnings.
Six-month picture and outlook
For the first half, net income rose only 2.6% to $781 million ($3.79 per share vs. $3.61), because CNA's contribution fell $38 million on "lower underlying underwriting results" and $94 million of unfavorable prior-year reserve development in P&C (vs. $57 million a year earlier). Hotels (+$46 million, helped by an easy comparison against a $9 million Q1 2025 joint-venture impairment) and Boardwalk (+$19 million) made up the difference.
Loews does not give earnings guidance. What to watch in the next quarters:
CNA's underlying loss ratio. Excess casualty and workers' compensation are where claims costs are rising faster than prices. Whether CNA's rate increases catch up is the main swing factor for Loews' largest earnings source. The third quarter is also the core of hurricane season, which Q2 did not test.
Legacy mass-tort reserves. A third large charge would suggest the reserve problem is ongoing.
Boardwalk's spending ramp. Growth capex is climbing toward a $3.4 billion program; earnings benefit arrives only as projects enter service through 2030, while higher general and administrative costs are already here.
Capital return. With $4.4 billion at the parent and CNA having declared another $0.48 quarterly dividend (payable September 3, 2026), Loews has room to keep buying back shares, which has been a steady contributor to per-share growth.
Our view: Loews' earnings mix is healthier outside insurance than inside it right now. Hotels and pipelines are growing, but CNA's underwriting margin is narrowing, and investment income, which carried this quarter, is the least predictable part of the result.
Source: Loews Corporation Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, filed August 3, 2026. Book value per share from the company's Q2 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1).