can you comment on earnings, price action, and recommendations re BUY or SELL?
cheers, Chris
EPS of $1.06 missed estimates of $1.10; revenue was $12.2B. While a 'miss', Manulife's profit trajectory remains supported by momentum in its Asia operations, which contribute nearly half of core earnings. The insurer's core EPS gains in 2026-27 could skew toward the lower end of its 10-12% target due to industry pressure on asset-management flows and generally more-modest growth in North America. Despite a year-ago sales gain in Asia of about 50%, Manulife still expanded 1Q volume in the region by 11%, with strong growth in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore while an improved business mix slightly added to the new business margin. These trends bode well for Manulife's growth in the Asia region. North America profit was hurt in 1Q by spread pressure and disability claims, but growth in the contractual service margin in the US and Canada points to underlying momentum. The stock has taken a hit today, but at only 11x earnings with a 3.8% dividend we would consider it a BUY.