NMIH Q2 Earnings Beat on Premium Growth and Lower Claims

NMIH Premiums and Revenue Advance

Net premiums earned increased 5.7% year over year to $157.5 million, reflecting continued expansion in the insured portfolio. Our estimate was $157 million.

Net investment income climbed 21.6% to $30.3 million, providing another meaningful lift to the top line. Our estimate was $27 million.

The company recorded net realized investment losses of $0.2 million compared with $0.4 million a year earlier. Other revenues were $0.3 million, up from $0.2 million in the prior-year quarter.

NMI Holdings Expands Insurance Portfolio

New insurance written totaled $16.1 billion, up 28.8% year over year. Purchase originations accounted for $14.3 billion, while refinance volume was $1.8 billion. The weighted average credit score on new business improved to 760 from 756.

Primary risk in force grew to $60.8 billion (our estimates was $63.3 billion) from $57.5 billion. Policies in force rose to 694,273 (our estimate was 713,246) from 668,638. Annual persistency declined to 81.4% from 84.1%, indicating a somewhat faster pace of policy runoff.

NMIH Claims Ease as Ratios Improve

Insurance claims and claim expenses decreased 2.2% year over year to $13.1 million. The loss ratio improved 70 basis points to 8.3%, signaling favorable underwriting performance despite a higher default inventory.

Underwriting and operating expenses increased 3.3% to $30.5 million. Still, the expense ratio improved 40 basis points to 19.4%, while the combined ratio improved 110 basis points to 27.7% (the Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 31.03).

NMI Holdings Delivers Higher Profitability

Net income rose 10% year over year to $105.8 million. Income before taxes increased to $136.9 million from $123.6 million, supported by revenue growth and disciplined claims and expense management.

Adjusted net income advanced 9.8% to $106 million. Annualized adjusted return on equity was 15.9%, down 40 basis points from the year-ago quarter.

NMIH Builds Book Value and Capital

Book value per share excluding net unrealized investment gains and losses increased 15% year over year to $36.88. Reported book value per share was $35.89, while total shareholders’ equity was $2.7 billion at quarter-end.

Total PMIERs available assets were $3.7 billion compared with $3.2 billion a year earlier. Net risk-based required assets were $2.1 billion, leaving available assets well above the regulatory requirement and supporting further portfolio growth.

NMI Holdings Maintains a High-Quality Risk Mix

Loans with credit scores of 760 or higher represented $115 billion of primary insurance in force. Fixed-rate mortgages accounted for 98% of primary risk in force, limiting exposure to adjustable-rate loan resets.

The default rate was 1.16%, up from 1% a year ago, and loans in default totaled 8,020. However, the portfolio remained broadly diversified, with the top 10 states accounting for 51.1% of primary risk in force.

Management highlighted the company’s customer franchise, insured-book quality, risk-transfer arrangements and balance-sheet strength. These factors underpin its ability to pursue growth while maintaining protection against mortgage credit losses.

NMIH Ends the Quarter With Ample Liquidity

Cash and cash equivalents totaled $72.1 million as of June 30, 2026, up from $43.9 million at the end of 2025. Total assets increased to $4 billion from $3.8 billion over the same period.

Debt was $418 million, nearly unchanged from $417 million at 2025-end. The company also reported $3.3 billion of fixed-maturity investments at fair value. Its reserve for insurance claims and claim expenses was $214.6 million, up from $196.4 million at the end of 2025.

Zacks Rank

NMIH currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Performance of Other Insurers

W.R. Berkley Corporation WRB reported second-quarter 2026 operating income of $1.27 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 16.5%. The bottom line increased 21% year over year. Operating revenues totaled $3.8 billion, up 3.6% year over year. The top line surpassed the consensus estimate by 1.87%.

W.R. Berkley’s net premiums written were about $3.4 billion, up 2.4% year over year. The consolidated combined ratio (a measure of underwriting profitability) improved 160 basis points year over year to 90, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 92.

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited AXS reported second-quarter 2026 operating income of $2.84 per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.23 and fell 12.1% year over year. Total operating revenues of $1.7 billion marginally missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1%. The top line rose nearly 7.4% year over year on higher premiums earned.

Net premiums written decreased 1.8% to $1.6 billion, reflecting lower premiums in the Reinsurance segment, partially offset by growth in the Insurance segment. AXIS Capital’s underwriting income of $142.9 million decreased 24.5% year over year. The combined ratio deteriorated to 93.1 in the quarter from 88.9 a year ago, reflecting higher catastrophe and weather-related losses. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 93.2. Our estimate was 93.8.

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. SIGI reported second-quarter 2026 operating earnings of $1.95 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13.4%. The bottom line increased 48.9% year over year. Revenues of $1.37 billion rose 4.5% from the year-ago quarter and topped the consensus estimate by 0.7%. 

Net premiums written declined 5% year over year to $1.22 billion due to a 6% decrease in Standard Commercial Lines, an 8% fall in Standard Personal Lines, and a 2% decline in Excess and Surplus Lines. Our estimate was $1.33 billion. Net premiums earned increased 2.3%. Direct new business fell to $206.1 million from $248.1 million. Renewal pure price increases averaged 6.5%, down from 9.9% in the prior-year quarter.

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