For the full 2025 fiscal year, Manulife Financial Corporation reported net income attributed to common shareholders of $5.6 billion, compared with net income of $5.4 billion announced a year earlier. This represents an increase of $187 million or two per cent.
Core earnings rose three per cent over 12 months to reach $7.5 billion in 2025. Earnings were boosted by results achieved in Asia and in wealth and asset management, but the U.S. division reported a loss (see below).
Canada
In Canada, net income attributed to shareholders totalled $1.3 billion in 2025, up $92 million or 8 per cent from the $1.2 billion reported in 2024.
The increase reflects “higher expected investment earnings, business growth in Group Insurance, improved insurance experience in individual insurance and an increase in contractual service margin (CSM) amortization,” the company stated in its management’s discussion and analysis. These items were “partially offset by less favourable insurance experience in Group Insurance and lower from Manulife Bank earnings”.
The company also highlights a 22 per cent increase in CSM from new business in Canada, attributable to growth in volumes written in individual insurance and annuity contracts.
United States
For the U.S. business unit, net income attributed to shareholders was a loss of $527 million in 2025, compared with net income of $135 million in 2024.
According to the company, the 30 per cent decrease in core earnings reflects a combination of factors, including unfavourable insurance experience related to life insurance claims in 2025, whereas claims experience had been favourable in 2024. Manulife also points to lower expected investment earnings and the net impact of the 2024 updates to actuarial methods and assumptions.
During the February 12 conference call, several analysts asked questions regarding the unfavourable experience in the U.S. division. Manulife executives indicated that this reflected normal variability in life insurance and disability insurance claims.
In response to a follow-up question on the matter, President and CEO Philip Witherington, who took office in May 2025 following the departure of Roy Gori, specified that “the drivers of adverse experience that you’ve referenced are quite different lines of business. The short-term matter that we’ve discussed on this call, of some mortality variability, we do believe this is short-term variability.”
The company also reported 42 per cent growth in CSM from new business in its U.S. segment in 2025. It further notes that annualized premium equivalent (APE) sales increased 24 per cent, “reflecting broad-based demand for our suite of products.”
Asia
In Asia, net income attributed to shareholders reached $3 billion in 2025, compared with net income of $2.4 billion reported in 2024. This represents an increase of $617 million or 26 per cent over a 12-month period.
Core earnings rose 18 per cent in 2025 compared with 2024, after adjusting for the impact of changes in foreign exchange rates. In Hong Kong, core earnings increased 26 per cent and 48 per cent in mainland China.
The company also highlights the creation of a 50-50 life insurance joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra Limited to enter the Indian market.
Global Wealth and Asset Management
For the Global Wealth and Asset Management segment, net income attributed to shareholders amounted to $1.9 billion in fiscal 2025, compared with earnings of $1.6 billion reported in 2024. This represents an increase of $303 million or 19 per cent.
The improvement in core earnings, up 14 per cent on a constant exchange rate basis, is primarily attributable to higher net fee income related to assets under management and administration, Manulife states in its management’s discussion and analysis. The company also cites the acquisition of Comvest.
Sales
In 2025, annualized premium equivalent (APE) sales reached $9.74 billion. In 2024, APE sales totalled $8.4 B. This represents an increase of $1.3 billion or 16 per cent over 12 months.
Looking more closely by business unit, comparing 2025 sales with those of 2024, APE sales increased 36 per cent in Asia, which is the insurer’s largest market. Sales were also up 20 per cent in Canada and 11 per cent in the United States.
Insurance sales reached $8.7 billion in 2025. This represents an increase of 16 per cent compared with sales of $7.5 billion reported for fiscal 2024.
As at December 31, 2025, the Life Insurance Capital Adequacy Test (LICAT) ratio of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company stood at 136 per cent, compared with 137 per cent a year earlier. Share buybacks, dividends, the acquisition of Comvest and new capital requirements for segregated funds, in effect since January 1, 2025, explain the decrease in the LICAT ratio, the company specifies in its management’s discussion and analysis.
Discussion with analysts
The discussion between financial analysts and the management team took place on February 12. Philip Witherington confirmed that the company will continue its normal course issuer bid.
In 2025, three per cent of outstanding shares were repurchased, and the program will continue in 2026 for 2.5 per cent of the outstanding share volume. These buybacks are an appropriate way to deploy excess capital, according to Witherington, and at 2.5 per cent, “it’s not something that constrains our ability to invest organically in our businesses, which is really important in the context of the refreshed strategy that we laid out three months ago,” he adds.
For his part, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Colin Simpson adds that the company continues to target a return on equity (ROE) of 18 per cent. “We live in a fluid environment, and we will use share buybacks not as the primary driver to get to the 18 per cent ROE, but as a lever to pull in order for us to get there,” he says.
