Arthur J. Gallagher Q3 2026 earnings: revenue misses, adjusted profit holds steady

October 29, 2026

Revenue fell short of Wall Street forecasts, but adjusted profit matched expectations, buoyed by acquisitions even as deal-related accounting charges weighed on reported earnings.

Key takeaways

• Revenue of $3.92 billion came in below analyst forecasts of about $4.0 billion, while adjusted earnings per share of $3.00 landed essentially in line with estimates and up sharply from $2.31 a year earlier.
• The reported (GAAP) profit figure was much smaller — $1.55 per share — than the $3.00 adjusted figure. Most of that gap is a non-cash accounting charge, roughly $284 million before tax, for writing down the value of businesses Gallagher has acquired over time; it reflects acquisition accounting rather than weaker day-to-day operations.
• “Organic growth” — the increase in business from operations the company already owned, excluding acquisitions — ran about 5% combined across its two divisions, matching the company’s full-year target of roughly 6%.
• The core insurance-brokerage division grew organically about 5%, steady with the prior quarter, while the risk-management division (which helps employers manage claims and workers’ comp) grew about 10% organically, a slowdown from 12% in the second quarter.
• Total revenue, including newly acquired businesses, rose about 18% from a year earlier — a reminder that much of Gallagher’s growth still comes from buying other brokerages and risk firms rather than from existing operations alone.
• Over the trailing twelve months, revenue is up about 26% year over year, largely acquisition-driven, while earnings per share over the same stretch are down nearly 9% — a sign that deal-related costs, like the amortization charge above, are currently outpacing profit growth even though underlying margins (net profit margin near 10%, operating margin above 17%) remain solid.
• Management reiterated guidance for roughly 6% organic growth company-wide for full-year 2026 and said it expects the brokerage division’s organic growth to stay around 5% in the fourth quarter, pointing to steady underlying demand for its services.

How the stock took it

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. closed at $260.42 on Oct 28, 2026, the last session before the report, and at $276.07 on Oct 30, 2026, the first session after it — +6.0% across the report.

Closes from the market's daily record. Each figure spans the report date — from the last session that closed before it to the first that closed after — because a company may report before the open or after the close.

Fundamentals

Sources: company report · The Insurer · StockTitan · earnings call