Fundamentals snapshot
MET · NYQ · Financial Services · Insurance - Life
Current price
$99.67
52-week range
$67.33 - $103.65
Market cap
$63.34B
One-glance verdict
We don't put a cash-flow fair value on banks and insurers. For these companies the reported 'cash flow' is really just money moving between loans, deposits and trades — not the leftover profit the owners could actually pocket — so the usual method would print a misleading number.
Balance sheet
Net debt $22.99B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
What this company does
MetLife sells insurance and financial products like life insurance and retirement plans to individuals and businesses globally. The money primarily comes from the premiums people and companies pay for these policies and services. This matters because MetLife's business relies on carefully managing the risk that people will need to claim on their insurance or annuities, and accurately predicting future payouts is key to their profitability.
MetLife's story began in 1863, during the American Civil War, when it was founded to provide insurance for soldiers. After several changes, it focused on life insurance and officially opened as Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in 1868. For many years, it operated as a mutual company, meaning it was owned by its policyholders rather than shareholders. This changed in 2000 when MetLife became a publicly traded company. Over its long history, MetLife has grown into a global financial services giant, expanding its offerings and market presence across the United States, Asia, Latin America, and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
MetLife is a major financial services company that offers a wide range of insurance and employee benefit programs. Think of them as a company that helps people and businesses manage financial risks and plan for the future. They provide protection against unexpected events through various types of insurance, help people save for retirement, and offer benefits that employers can provide to their employees. Essentially, MetLife helps millions of customers worldwide build more confident futures by offering security and financial solutions.
This is one of MetLife's largest business areas, focusing on providing insurance and benefits to employees through their employers. Companies purchase these benefits, such as group life, dental, disability, and vision insurance, to offer to their workforce. This segment is crucial because it helps employers attract and retain talent by providing valuable financial security and health-related benefits to their employees. It's a significant portion of MetLife's overall business, serving millions of employees and their families.
This segment is all about helping people secure their financial future, especially during retirement. MetLife offers solutions like annuities (which are like a stream of income payments, often for life) and pension risk transfers. Pension risk transfer is when a company gives its responsibility for paying pensions to MetLife, which then manages those obligations. This business is growing due to longer life expectancies and evolving work patterns, increasing the demand for reliable retirement income. It serves both individual consumers and institutional clients like pension plan sponsors.
MetLife has a significant presence in various Asian markets, offering a range of insurance and financial products tailored to the needs of customers in this region. This segment includes life insurance, accident and health insurance, and employee benefits. The company aims to expand its reach in these high-growth international markets, leveraging its global expertise to serve a growing customer base in countries across Asia. This part of the business is a key focus for MetLife's international growth strategy.
In Latin America, MetLife provides a variety of insurance and financial services, similar to its offerings in other regions but adapted to local market needs. This includes life insurance, accident and health products, and employee benefits for businesses operating in the region. MetLife is actively working to grow its presence in these markets, offering financial protection and solutions to individuals and companies across Latin America. This segment contributes to MetLife's diversified global footprint.
This segment covers MetLife's operations across a broad geographical area, offering insurance and employee benefit solutions to customers in numerous countries. The product offerings are diverse, including life insurance, accident and health insurance, and retirement solutions. MetLife focuses on providing financial security and support to individuals and businesses within these diverse markets, contributing to its global reach and revenue diversification.
MetLife Holdings is a segment that primarily manages legacy business that is in runoff, meaning it's no longer actively selling new policies but continues to manage existing ones. This includes certain types of insurance and annuity products. By managing these older blocks of business, MetLife can focus its resources on its core growth areas while still fulfilling its obligations to existing policyholders. It represents a smaller, more specialized part of MetLife's overall operations.
MetLife's current strategy, called 'New Frontier,' focuses on four key priorities: strengthening its leadership in Group Benefits, capitalizing on its retirement solutions platform, accelerating growth in asset management (managing money for clients), and expanding in high-growth international markets. The company aims for responsible growth with attractive returns and lower risk. They are also prioritizing digital transformation to enhance customer experience, making it easier for people to interact with MetLife through both technology ('high-take') and personalized advice ('high-touch'). This strategy is designed to create long-term value for customers, employees, communities, and shareholders.
Price history
Earnings history
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
Is it cheap or expensive?
For a bank or insurer, the "free cash flow" shown on its statements is mostly money flowing through loans, deposits and trades — not the leftover profit the owners could actually keep, which is what this kind of valuation needs. Running that through the usual method would spit out a meaningless number, so we leave the cash-flow fair value out here rather than show you something misleading.
Is it drowning in debt?
Net debt $23.0B. Interest coverage 5.4x.
MetLife, Inc.'s profit covers its interest bill about 5.4 times over. which is weaker than most peers shown here.
Total debt $50.31B Interest coverage 5.39x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $16.18B Interest coverage 21.60x +301% vs MET Carries about 4.0x more debt cushion than MET.
Total debt $9.13B Interest coverage 10.80x +100% vs MET Carries about 2.0x more debt cushion than MET.
Total debt $16.63B Interest coverage 5.64x +5% vs MET Has roughly the same debt cushion as MET.
What you should know
The numbers
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Valuation
Profitability
Health
Growth
Cash flow
Dividend
Metric explainer
Debt comparison
What you should know