Great-West Lifeco (GWO) AI Stock Analysis

Company Guidance

Management expects full year credit experience to be within the $80 million to $120 million pretax range, with total credit losses within the expected range of 4 to 6 basis points for the first 9 months; Europe remains on track for mid-single-digit-plus base earnings growth, CRS expects mid-single-digit-plus growth going forward and a mid-single-digit-plus pace in 2027, and Empower is expected to deliver double-digit earnings growth in 2027. Empower expects positive net plan flows for the full year, net plan sales north of $20 billion for Q1 '27 in terms of contractual commitments, and another strong year of net plan flows in 2027; pretax operating margin is expected to be in the mid-30s for the Retirement business and in the high-30s for the Wealth business, while Canada Wealth is expected to have 18% to 20% margin and Canada Retirement margins are expected to persist under normal market conditions. Canada expects full year 2027 experience to be broadly neutral and insurance experience to be neutral overall in 2027; share buybacks are expected to be at least as many shares in 2027 as in 2026, supporting a total payout ratio of over 75% next year, while the LICAT ratio is expected to remain at or above 125% under normal operating conditions.