Lincoln National Corporation

What they do

Lincoln National operates through four segments: Annuities, Life Insurance, Group Protection, and Retirement Plan Services. It sells individual and group insurance products, including variable, fixed, and registered index-linked annuities, universal and term life insurance, group disability and life coverage, and employer-sponsored retirement plans. The company earns revenue from insurance premiums, fee income, and net investment income, with separate account assets totaling $188.3 billion as of June 30, 2026.

Revenue drivers

• Annuities — Sells variable, fixed, and RILA contracts; account balances and fee income are driven by equity market performance and product design. A major contributor to fee income and account-based revenue.
• Life Insurance — Offers universal life, variable universal life, and term products; generates premiums and investment income. Sensitive to lapse rates, mortality, and reserve assumptions.
• Group Protection — Provides group disability and life insurance to employers; revenue from premiums and fee income, impacted by claims incidence and employment levels.
• Retirement Plan Services — Provides defined contribution and other retirement plans; earns fee income on plan assets, with revenue tied to asset levels and participant activity.

Recent performance

In Q2 2026, total revenues were $4.54 billion, up from $4.04 billion in Q2 2025, with net income of $1.33 billion versus $0.70 billion a year earlier. The quarter included a $1.46 billion market risk benefit gain, boosting results. For the six months ended June 30, 2026, net income was $1.16 billion, compared to a net loss of $23 million in the same period of 2025. Annual net income for 2025 was $1.18 billion on revenues of $18.21 billion. Total assets rose to $429.80 billion as of June 30, 2026, from $417.20 billion at year-end 2025, and stockholders' equity increased to $11.35 billion.

Strategy

Management focuses on maintaining financial strength and credit ratings, with a stated reliance on its credit facility and committed repurchase facilities for liquidity and statutory reserve credit. The company continues to hedge variable annuity and RILA contracts to manage equity market exposure, as reflected in market risk benefit gains and losses. There is an emphasis on managing reserves and capital in light of rating agency model changes, such as S&P's 2023 RBC model update. The recent 10-K and Q2 2026 filings do not detail new strategic initiatives beyond these capital and risk management priorities.

Risks

• Market volatility — Weak capital markets or economic downturns could lower demand for products, increase lapses, and cause investment losses, adversely affecting results.
• Reserve inadequacy — Assumptions for premiums, lapses, claims, and investment returns may prove incorrect, leading to reserve shortfalls and negative earnings impact.
• Ratings downgrade — If statutory capital is insufficient, the company may need to raise capital on unfavorable terms or face downgrades that hurt product sales and increase surrenders.
• Liquidity and credit facility access — Inability to access credit or repurchase facilities, or failure of lenders to fund commitments, could reduce liquidity and impair LNL's capital position.

Outlook

Management's outlook emphasizes the importance of maintaining capital strength and liquidity, with continued monitoring of statutory capital needs under rating agency models. The company expects equity markets and economic conditions to remain key challenges, as noted in risk factors. The Q2 2026 earnings release and statistical supplement provide segment-level data but do not include specific forward-looking guidance. Future results will be sensitive to market performance, claims experience, and reserve developments.