Old Republic International Corp. reported fourth-quarter 2025 net operating income of $184.7 million, down from $227.0 million a year earlier, even though net income rose to $206.3 million. Net operating income per diluted share was $0.74, compared with $0.90 in the year-ago quarter.
The gap between operating results and reported net income was shaped by investment performance. Old Republic recorded total net investment gains of $27.2 million in the quarter, compared with a total net investment loss of ($154.4 million) a year earlier. The quarter included $173.0 million in realized investment gains and ($145.7 million) in unrealized equity valuation changes.
Consolidated net premiums and fees earned increased 9.8% to $2.13 billion, while net investment income rose 7.9% to $183.8 million. Total operating revenues increased 9.5% to $2.36 billion.
Old Republic’s consolidated combined ratio increased to 96.0% from 92.7% in the prior-year quarter. Favorable loss reserve development contributed 2.4 points to the consolidated combined ratio, compared with 2.9 points a year earlier.
Loss and loss adjustment expenses rose 15.0% to $912.0 million. Underwriting, acquisition and other expenses increased 12.8% to $1.20 billion.
Specialty Insurance net premiums earned rose 8.3% to $1.34 billion, while underwriting income declined to $37.2 million from $100.9 million. The segment combined ratio increased to 97.3% from 91.8%.
Title insurance net premiums and fees earned rose 12.4% to $788.5 million, and underwriting income increased to $47.3 million from $39.1 million. The segment combined ratio was 94.0%, compared with 94.4% a year earlier.
Piper Sandler cited commercial auto loss-cost inflation when it downgraded Old Republic to Neutral from Overweight, and cut its price target to $38 from $51. Analyst Paul Newsome wrote, “We think companies that are entangled in commercial auto reserving or loss trend issues have less operational promise in a softening market than those who do not,” adding that “a trend cloud will likely cause the company to trade at a discount to peer average until the issue is proven solved.”
The firm pointed to Old Republic’s disclosure that its commercial auto initial 2025 accident-year loss ratio increased by ~3 percentage points tied to higher loss trends in the liability portion of long-haul trucking case reserves. Piper Sandler said the catch-up for all four quarters led to a 12-point increase in the fourth-quarter loss ratio. The note also said Old Republic shares slid about 11% in midday trading Thursday.
Separately, Zacks reported quarterly revenue of $2.36 billion, a 9.5% year-over-year increase, with EPS of $0.74, and said the quarter showed an EPS miss versus consensus expectations.
For full-year 2025, Old Republic posted net income of $935.4 million, up from $852.7 million in 2024. Net income excluding investment gains and losses totaled $792.5 million, compared with $797.0 million a year earlier.
Book value per common share, inclusive of dividends declared, was $24.21, up 22.0% since year-end 2024. The company said it returned $742 million to shareholders during the quarter, including $686 million in dividends and $56 million in share repurchases. Another market report noted Old Republic announced a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share, with payment scheduled for Dec. 15, 2025, for shareholders of record on Dec. 5.
