Palomar Holdings: 16 Straight Beats and a Fourth Guidance Raise in 2026

Palomar Holdings reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.01 for the third quarter of 2026, beating the $2.59 consensus estimate. Revenue of $386.59 million also came in ahead of Wall Street's forecast, driven by premium growth across all five of the company's product lines.

The standout growth engine was crop insurance, where gross written premiums surged 89.3% to $226.67 million. The Surety and Credit segment grew 228.4%, helped by the January 2026 acquisition of Gray Casualty and Surety. Net earned premiums climbed as Palomar retained a larger share of risk on its own balance sheet, and the expense ratio improved to 39.3%.

The loss ratio, however, widened to 41.5% from 32.3%, a direct consequence of the heavier crop mix in the book. Crop is inherently more loss-prone in a given quarter depending on weather conditions and crop price volatility, and the company also absorbed $4.5 million in catastrophe losses from a Hawaii hurricane and flood event alongside Midwest flooding. That tradeoff is worth watching as the crop book continues to scale.

Management raised its full-year 2026 adjusted net income guidance for the fourth time this year, lifting the range to $280 million to $285 million, which includes an estimate of $8 million to $12 million in catastrophe losses for the full year. The annualized adjusted return on equity stood at 33.1%, up from 25.6% a year earlier, reflecting what CEO Mac Armstrong called the ability to deliver profitable growth "in a dynamic insurance market."

Palomar also repurchased 70,000 shares of common stock for $8.9 million during the quarter and declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.45 per share, payable December 2 to shareholders of record as of November 17. The Q3 result marks the company's 16th consecutive earnings beat, a streak that now spans four full years of reported quarters.