Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited reported fiscal year 2025 net earnings of US$4.77 billion, up 23% from 2024, as the Canadian P&C group posted record underwriting profit and moved to take Kennedy-Wilson Holdings private in a deal worth up to US$1.65 billion.
Book value per basic share rose 20.5% to US$1,260.19 as of December 31. Net premiums written by Fairfax Financial's P&C insurance and reinsurance operations climbed 3.9% to a record US$26.3 billion, while gross premiums written rose 2.3% to US$33.3 billion.
The company pointed to new business across reinsurance and casualty lines and modest rate increases as drivers.
The consolidated undiscounted combined ratio was 93.0%, producing record underwriting profit of US$1.82 billion, up from 92.7% and US$1.79 billion in 2024. Current period catastrophe losses rose to US$1.24 billion from US$1.10 billion.
Adjusted operating income for the P&C operations dipped 2.8% to US$4.63 billion. Float grew 11.2% to US$39.3 billion at year-end, while portfolio investments stood at US$70.0 billion.
Net gains on investments totalled US$3.15 billion, driven by common stock gains. Consolidated interest and dividends rose to US$2.57 billion.
The life insurance and run-off segment posted an operating loss of US$213.7 million, up from US$92.1 million in 2024, due to US$298.5 million in net adverse reserve development tied to latent hazard claims.
The results place Fairfax Financial well ahead of peer Markel Group, which reported 2025 net income of US$2.11 billion on a combined ratio of 94.6% and an investment portfolio roughly half the size.
Markel also disclosed it had sold the renewal rights for its global reinsurance division in August 2025, placing US$1.0 billion in gross premium volume into run-off.
Separately, Fairfax and a consortium led by Kennedy-Wilson CEO William McMorrow announced on February 17 a definitive agreement to take the real estate firm private at US$10.90 per share.
A company filing shows the price represents a 46% premium to Kennedy-Wilson's unaffected share price as of November 4, 2025.
The transaction caps a partnership dating to 2010, when Fairfax first invested US$100 million in Kennedy-Wilson equity. The two firms have since co-invested in more than US$8 billion in acquisitions, company filings show.
That relationship deepened in 2020 with a US$2 billion real estate debt platform, later expanded to a US$5 billion target after a US$300 million perpetual preferred equity investment in 2022.
Post-closing, McMorrow's management team will retain operational control, while Fairfax holds a majority economic interest. Kennedy-Wilson, which manages US$31 billion in assets across the US, UK, and Ireland, is expected to delist from the NYSE when the deal closes in Q2 2026.
Chairman and CEO Prem Watsa (pictured above) said all major P&C insurance and reinsurance segments achieved combined ratios below 100%, delivering "record underwriting profit of US$1.8 billion, on an undiscounted basis."
Watsa also cited US$3.2 billion in net investment gains alongside record interest and dividend income of US$2.6 billion. The company repurchased over one million shares during the year for US$1.6 billion.
