Swiss Re has set a 2026 group net income target of US$4.5 billion and plans to introduce an annual share buyback program as part of an updated strategic plan.
The buyback is expected to start in 2026 at US$500 million, complementing the reinsurer’s ordinary dividend and remaining subject to its 2025 earnings targets.
Group CEO Andreas Berger (pictured above) said the company has been “strengthen[ing] the foundations of our business,” pointing to accelerated efforts this year to improve the resilience of the in-force Life & Health Reinsurance (L&H Re) book. He said these actions support a higher 2026 target for L&H Re, feeding into the updated group net income goal of US$4.5 billion.
Berger said Swiss Re is “delivering resilient earnings and leveraging a powerful data and AI platform to drive smarter decisions, deeper risk insights and long-term value for our clients.” He added that the group will keep its efforts and resources focused on core markets, where it sees constructive conditions supported by structural growth.
Those forward-looking targets are being set on the back of a stronger 2025 earnings run-rate, with Swiss Re reporting net income of US$4 billion for the first nine months of the year, up from US$2.2 billion in the same period of 2024, and a return on equity of 22.5%.
The group has said it expects to meet its full-year net income target of more than US$4.4 billion and continues to report a robust capital position, including an estimated Swiss Solvency Test ratio of 268%, even as L&H Re is not expected to achieve its approximately US$1.6 billion net income target for 2025.
The company said artificial intelligence will play a central role in transforming core processes. Swiss Re has been integrating AI into underwriting, claims and data handling to support productivity gains and more consistent decision making across its business units.
Management described this as an end-to-end change program requiring a redesign of key workflows. The initiative builds on Swiss Re’s long-standing investment in a strategic data platform and high-quality data, which the group views as essential to capturing the benefits of AI at scale.
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In L&H Re, Swiss Re said it has “materially completed” a review of underperforming portfolios, focusing on Australia, Israel and South Korea. The reinsurer expects fourth-quarter IFRS pre-tax earnings to reflect an estimated US$250 million impact from assumption updates tied to that review.
Swiss Re’s financial and strategic goals are framed by its own macro view for 2026 and 2027, which anticipates slower global GDP growth of around 2.5%, persistent inflation and insured natural catastrophe losses projected to exceed US$100 billion in 2025.
At its recent “Shifting Sands” outlook event, the group highlighted rising flood risk, the growing prominence of secondary perils and the need for insurers to act as partners in resilience as geopolitical, economic and climate pressures intersect.
Swiss Re said it is maintaining a multi-year IFRS return on equity target of more than 14%. The group also reiterated its aim to grow the dividend by at least 7% per year over the next two years and remains on track to cut run-rate operating expenses by US$300 million by 2027.
