Brighthouse Financial (BHF) Q4 2023 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q4 net loss available to shareholders was $942M, or $14.70 per diluted share; adjusted earnings were $177M, or $2.73 per share, and adjusted earnings less notable items were $189M, or $2.92 per share.

• FY 2023 net loss available to shareholders was $1.214B; adjusted earnings less notable items totaled $930M, versus $1.12B in FY 2022.

• Full-year annuity sales reached $10.6B, supported by Shield Level annuities; life sales were $102M.

Financial highlights

• Adjusted earnings less notable items were $189M in Q4 2023, versus $275M in Q3 2023 and $282M in Q4 2022.

• Q4 adjusted earnings were $177M, versus $545M in Q4 2022; Q4 2023 included a $12M unfavorable legal item.

• Q4 net investment income was $1.207B; adjusted net investment income was $1.226B, up $144M QoQ, with a 4.16% yield.

• Alternative investment yield was 0.7% for the quarter, and net investment income was ~$60M below quarterly run-rate expectations post-tax; corporate expense seasonality also affected results.

• Q4 corporate expenses were $244M pre-tax, versus $243M in Q4 2022 and $210M in Q3 2023.

Outlook and guidance

• Long-term annual share repurchase expectation was 9%–11%; ~$763M remained under authorizations after ~$30M of additional YTD repurchases through February 9, 2024.

• Statutory capital management uses a maximum loss tolerance and manages Shield and variable-annuity risk on a combined basis.