Broker Marsh's profit rises on strong risk and insurance business

Published: 2026-04-16 07:04:41 ET MRSH

Published on 04/16/2026 at 07:04 am EDT

April 16 (Reuters) - Insurance broker Marsh reported a rise in first-quarter adjusted profit on Thursday, driven by robust results in its risk and insurance services unit.

Insurance demand remains resilient as customers continue to spend on ensuring that households and businesses are protected from large, unpredictable losses, even as economic uncertainty driven by the Middle East conflict is expected to fuel inflation.

Brokers earn commissions primarily as a percentage of insurance premiums, leaving their revenue closely tied to movements in the insurance pricing cycle and overall premium growth.

Revenue in Marsh's risk and insurance services business came in at $5.1 billion for the three months ended March 31, up 6% from a year earlier. Its consulting arm reported an 11% rise in revenue.

Shares of the New York-based broker, however, have fallen 5.7% YTD.

Analysts say investors are likely to remain cautious on insurance brokers amid growing fears that AI could disrupt parts of their business, particularly in pricing, risk assessment and client servicing.

On an adjusted basis, earnings per share increased to $3.29 in the reported quarter, compared with $3.06 a year earlier.

Total revenue grew 7.6% to $7.6 billion.

(Reporting by Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda)