Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis
ITEM 2 — Management’s Discussion and Analysis o f Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion updates the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, and the two discussions should be read together.
GENERAL
Company Overview — First Quarter of 2025
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and the related Notes to those Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP"). In addition, please see “Information Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below concerning important information on non-GAAP financial measures contained in our discussion and analysis.
We are a diversified insurance agency, wholesale brokerage, insurance programs and services organization headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. As an insurance intermediary, our principal sources of revenue are commissions paid by insurance companies and, to a lesser extent, fees paid directly by customers. Commission revenues generally represent a percentage of the premium paid by an insured and are affected by fluctuations in both premium rate levels charged by insurance companies and the insureds’ underlying “insurable exposure units,” which are units that insurance companies use to measure or express insurance exposed to risk (such as property values, sales or payroll levels) to determine what premium to charge the insured. Insurance companies establish these premium rates based upon many factors, including loss experience, risk profile and reinsurance rates paid by such insurance companies, none of which we control. We also participate in capitalized captive insurance facilities (the "Captives") for the purpose of having additional capacity to place coverage, drive additional revenues and to participate in underwriting results. The Captives focus on property insurance for earthquake and wind exposed properties underwritten by certain of our MGUs and limit the Company's exposure to claims expenses through reinsurance or by only participating in certain tranches of the underwriting.
The volume of business from new and existing customers, fluctuations in insurable exposure units, changes in premium rate levels, changes in general economic and competitive conditions, a reduction of purchased limits or the occurrence of catastrophic weather events all affect our revenues. For example, higher levels of inflation, an increase in the value of insurable exposure units, or a general decline in economic activity, could increase or decrease the value of insurable exposure units. Conversely, increasing costs of litigation settlements and awards could cause some customers to seek higher levels of insurance coverage. Historically, we have grown our revenues as a result of our focus on new business, customer retention and acquisitions. We foster a strong, decentralized sales and service culture, which enables responsiveness to changing business conditions and drives accountability for results.
The term “core commissions and fees” excludes profit-sharing contingent commissions, and therefore, it represents the revenues earned directly from specific insurance policies sold, and specific fee-based services rendered. The net change in core commissions and fees reflects the aggregate changes attributable to: (i) net new and lost accounts; (ii) net changes in our customers’ exposure units, deductibles or insured limits; (iii) net changes in insurance premium rates or the commission rate paid to us by our carrier partners; (iv) the net change in fees paid to us by our customers; and (v) any businesses acquired or disposed of.
We also earn profit-sharing contingent commissions, which are commissions based primarily on underwriting results, but in select situations may reflect additional considerations for volume, growth and/or retention. These commissions, which are included in our commissions and fees in the Consolidated Statements of Income, are estimated and accrued throughout the year based on actual premiums written and knowledge, to the extent it is available, of losses incurred. Payments are primarily received in the first and second quarters of each subsequent year, based upon the aforementioned considerations for the prior year(s), but may differ from the amount estimated and accrued due to the lack of complete visibility regarding loss information until they are received. Over the last three years, profit-sharing contingent commissions have averaged approximately 3.6% of commissions and fees revenue.
Fee revenues primarily relate to services other than securing coverage for our customers, and for fees negotiated in lieu of commissions. Fee revenues are generated by: (i) our Programs and Wholesale Brokerage segments, which earn fees primarily for the issuance of insurance policies on behalf of insurance carriers and (ii) our Retail segment in our large-account customer base, where we primarily earn fees for securing insurance for our customers, in our F&I businesses where we earn fees for assisting our customers with creating and selling warranty and service risk management programs and fees for Medicare Set-aside services, Social Security disability services and Medicare benefits advocacy services. Fee revenues as a percentage of our total commissions and fees, represented 21.1% in 2024 and 23.9% in 2023.
For the three months ended March 31, 2025, our total commissions and fees growth rate was 12.0%, and our consolidated Organic Revenue growth rate was 6.5%.
Historically, investment and other income has consisted primarily of interest earnings on operating cash and where permitted, on premiums collected and held in a fiduciary capacity before being remitted to insurance companies. Our policy as it relates to the Company’s capital is to invest available funds in high-quality, short-term money-market funds and fixed income investment securities. Investment income also includes gains and losses realized from the sale of investments. Other income primarily reflects other miscellaneous revenues.
23
Income before income taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased from the first quarter of 2024 by $63 million or 17.3%, driven by Organic Revenue growth, leveraging our expense base, net new business, lower interest expense and acquisitions completed in the past twelve months.
Information Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In the discussion and analysis of our results of operations, in addition to reporting financial results in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), we provide references to the following non-GAAP financial measures as defined in Regulation G of the SEC rules: Organic Revenue, EBITDAC, EBITDAC Margin, EBITDAC - Adjusted and EBITDAC Margin - Adjusted. We present these measures because we believe such information is of interest to the investment community. We believe they provide additional meaningful methods to evaluate the Company’s operating performance from period to period on a basis that may not be otherwise apparent on a GAAP basis due to the impact of certain items that have a high degree of variability, that we believe are not indicative of ongoing performance and that are not easily comparable from period to period. This non-GAAP financial information should be considered in addition to, not in lieu of, the Company’s consolidated income statements and balance sheets as of the relevant date. Consistent with Regulation G, a description of such information is provided below and tabular reconciliations of this supplemental non-GAAP financial information to our most comparable GAAP information are contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q under “Results of Operations - Segment Information.”
We view Organic Revenue and Organic Revenue growth as important indicators when assessing and evaluating our performance on a consolidated basis and for each of our three segments, because they allow us to determine a comparable, but non-GAAP, measurement of revenue growth that is associated with the revenue sources that were a part of our business in both the current and prior year and that are expected to continue in the future. We also view EBITDAC, EBITDAC - Adjusted, EBITDAC Margin and EBITDAC Margin - Adjusted as important indicators when assessing and evaluating our performance, as they present more comparable measurements of our operating margins in a meaningful and consistent manner. As disclosed in our most recent proxy statement, we use Organic Revenue growth, and EBITDAC Margin - Adjusted as key performance metrics for our short-term and long-term incentive compensation plans for executive officers and other key employees.
Non-GAAP Revenue Measures
• Organic Revenue is our core commissions and fees less: (i) the core commissions and fees earned for the first twelve months by newly acquired operations; (ii) divested business (core commissions and fees generated from offices, books of business or niches sold or terminated during the comparable period) and (iii) Foreign Currency Translation (as defined below). The term “core commissions and fees” excludes profit-sharing contingent commissions and therefore represents the revenues earned directly from specific insurance policies sold and specific fee-based services rendered. Organic Revenue can be expressed as a dollar amount or a percentage rate when describing Organic Revenue growth.
Non-GAAP Earnings Measures
• EBITDAC is defined as income before interest, income taxes, depreciation, amortization and the change in estimated acquisition earn-out payables.
• EBITDAC Margin is defined as EBITDAC divided by total revenues.
• EBITDAC - Adjusted is defined as EBITDAC, excluding (gain)/loss on disposal.
• EBITDAC Margin - Adjusted is defined as EBITDAC - Adjusted divided by total revenues.
Definitions Related to Certain Components of Non-GAAP Measures
• “Foreign Currency Translation” means the period-over period impact of foreign currency translation, which is calculated by applying current-year foreign exchange rates to the various functional currencies in our business to our reporting currency of U.S. dollars for the same period in the prior year.
• “(Gain)/loss on disposal” is a caption on our consolidated statements of income which reflects net proceeds received as compared to net book value related to sales of books of business and other divestiture transactions, such as the disposal of a business through sale or closure.
Our industry peers may provide similar supplemental non-GAAP information with respect to one or more of these measures, although they may not use the same or comparable terminology and may not make identical adjustments and, therefore comparability may be limited. This supplemental non-GAAP financial information should be considered in addition to, and not in lieu of, the Company ' s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
24
Acquisitions
Part of our business strategy is to attract high-quality insurance intermediaries and service organizations to join our operations. From 1993 through the first quarter of 2025, we acquired 687 insurance intermediary operations.
Critical Accounting Policies
We have had no changes to our Critical Accounting Policies as described in our most recent Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. We believe that of our significant accounting and reporting policies, the more critical policies include our accounting for revenue recognition, business combinations and purchase price allocations, intangible asset impairments, non-cash stock-based compensation and reserves for litigation. In particular, the accounting for these areas is subject to uncertainty, because it requires significant use of judgment to be made by management. Different assumptions in the application of these policies could result in material changes in our consolidated financial position or consolidated results of operations. Refer to Note 1 in the “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 for details regarding our critical and significant accounting policies.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2025 AND 2024
The following discussion and analysis regarding results of operations and liquidity and capital resources should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes.
Financial information relating to our condensed consolidated financial results is as follows:
Three months ended March 31,
(in millions, except percentages)
2025
2024
% Change
REVENUES
Core commissions and fees
$
1,342
$
1,191
12.7
%
Profit-sharing contingent commissions
43
46
(6.5
%)
Investment and other income
19
21
-9.5
%
Total revenues
1,404
1,258
11.6
%
EXPENSES
Employee compensation and benefits
683
631
8.2
%
Other operating expenses
186
161
15.5
%
Gain on disposal
2
2
—
%
Amortization
53
43
23.3
%
Depreciation
11
11
—
%
Interest
46
48
(4.2
)%
Change in estimated acquisition
earn-out payables
(4
)
(2
)
100.0
%
Total expenses
977
894
9.3
%
Income before income taxes
427
364
17.3
%
Income taxes
93
71
31.0
%
Net income before non-controlling interests
334
293
14.0
%
Less: Net income attributable to non-controlling interests
3
—
Net income attributable to the Company
$
331
$
293
13.0
%
Income Before Income Taxes
Margin (1)
30.4
%
28.9
%
EBITDAC - Adjusted (2)
$
535
$
466
14.8
%
EBITDAC Margin - Adjusted (2)
38.1
%
37.0
%
Organic Revenue growth rate (2)
6.5
%
8.6
%
Employee compensation and benefits
relative to total revenues
48.6
%
50.2
%
Other operating expenses relative
to total revenues
13.2
%
12.8
%
(1) "Income Before Income Taxes Margin" is defined as income before income taxes divided by total revenues.
(2) A non-GAAP financial measure.
25
Commissions and Fees
Commissions and fees, including profit-sharing contingent commissions and earned premiums, for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased $148 million to $1,385 million, or 12.0%, over the same period in 2024. Core commissions and fees revenue for the first quarter of 2025 increased $151 million or 12.7%, composed of: (i) approximately $77 million of net new and renewal business, which reflects an Organic Revenue growth rate of 6.5%; (ii) $79 million from acquisitions that had no comparable revenues in the same period of 2024 and offsetting decreases from; (iii) the impact of Foreign Currency Translation of $2 million and (iv) $3 million related to commissions and fees revenue from businesses or books of business divested in the preceding twelve months. Profit-sharing contingent commissions for the first quarter of 2025 decreased by $3 million, or 6.5%, compared to the same period in 2024.
Investment and Other Income
Investment and other income for the three months ended March 31, 2025 decreased $2 million from the same period in 2024. The decrease was primarily driven by lower average interest rates as compared to the prior year.
Employee Compensation and Benefits
Employee compensation and benefits expense as a percentage of total revenues was 48.6% for the three months ended March 31, 2025 as compared to 50.2% for the three months ended March 31, 2024, an increase of 8.2%, or $52 million. This increase included $30 million of compensation costs related to stand-alone acquisitions that had no comparable costs in the same period of 2024. Therefore, employee compensation and benefits expense attributable to those offices that existed in the same time periods of 2025 and 2024 increased by $22 million, or 3.4%. This underlying employee compensation and benefits expense increase was primarily related to: (i) an increase in staff costs attributable to new hires; (ii) an increase in producer compensation associated with revenue growth; (iii) an increase in non-cash stock-based compensation driven by the strong financial performance of the Company and partially offset by (iv) the year-over-year decrease of approximately $13 million in the value of deferred compensation liabilities driven by changes in the market prices of our deferred compensation plan, with such amount substantially offset within other operating expenses as we hold assets to fund these liabilities.
Other Operating Expenses
Other operating expenses represented 13.2% of total revenues for the first quarter of 2025, as compared to 12.8% for the first quarter of 2024. Other operating expenses for the first quarter of 2025 increased $25 million, or 15.5%, from the same period of 2024. This change includes: (i) $9 million of other operating expenses related to stand-alone acquisitions that had no comparable costs in the same period of 2024; (ii) increased information technology related costs; and (iii) the year-over-year increase of approximately $13 million in the value of assets held to fund the associated liabilities within our deferred compensation plan, which was substantially offset within employee compensation and benefits, as noted above.
(Gain)/Loss on Disposal
(Gain)/Loss on disposal for the first quarter of 2025 was unchanged from the first quarter of 2024 at $2 million. Although we do not routinely sell businesses or customer accounts, we periodically sell an office or a book of business (one or more customer accounts) that we believe does not produce reasonable margins or demonstrate a potential for adequate growth, or because doing so is in the Company’s best interest.
Amortization
Amortization expense for the first quarter of 2025 increased $10 million, or 23.3%, compared to the first quarter of 2024. This change reflects the amortization of new intangibles from businesses acquired within the past twelve months, net of certain intangible assets becoming fully amortized or written off in the (Gain)/Loss on disposal.
Depreciation
Depreciation expense for the first quarter of 2025 remained flat at $11 million as compared to the first quarter of 2024. Changes in depreciation expense reflect net additions of fixed assets resulting from businesses acquired in the past twelve months and the addition of fixed assets resulting from business initiatives, partially offset by the impact of fixed assets that became fully depreciated or written off in the gain or loss on disposal.
Interest Expense
Interest expense for the first quarter of 2025 decreased $2 million, or 4.2%, compared to the first quarter of 2024. The decrease was primarily driven by lower total debt outstanding as compared to the prior year.
Change in Estimated Acquisition Earn-Out Payables
Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 805 - Business Combinations is the authoritative guidance requiring an acquirer to recognize 100% of the fair value of acquired assets, including goodwill, and assumed liabilities (with only limited exceptions) upon initially obtaining control of an acquired entity. Additionally, the fair value of contingent consideration arrangements (such as earn-out purchase price arrangements) at the acquisition date must be included in the purchase price consideration. The recorded purchase price for acquisitions
26
includes an estimation of the fair value of liabilities associated with any potential earn-out provisions. Subsequent changes in these earn-out obligations are required to be recorded in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income when incurred or reasonably estimated. Estimations of potential earn-out obligations are typically based upon future earnings of the acquired operations or entities, usually for periods ranging from one to three years.
The net charge or credit to the Consolidated Statements of Income for the period is the combination of the net change in the estimated acquisition earn-out payables liability, and the accretion of the present value discount on those liabilities.
As of March 31, 2025 and 2024, the fair values of the estimated acquisition earn-out payables were re-evaluated based upon projected operating results and measured at fair value on a recurring basis using unobservable inputs (Level 3) as defined in ASC 820- Fair Value Measurement . The resulting net changes, as well as the interest expense accretion on the estimated acquisition earn-out payables were as follows:
Three months ended March 31,
(in millions)
2025
2024
Change in fair value of estimated acquisition earn-out payables
$
(6
)
$
(4
)
Interest expense accretion
2
2
Net change in earnings from estimated acquisition earn-out payables
$
(4
)
$
(2
)
For the three months ending March 31, 2025 and 2024, the fair value of estimated earn-out payables was re-evaluated and resulted in decreases of $6 million and $4 million, respectively, which were credits to the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income.
As of March 31, 2025, estimated acquisition earn-out payables totaled $143 million, of which $51 million was recorded as accounts payable and $92 million was recorded as other non-current liabilities.
Income Taxes
The effective tax rate on income from operations for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 was 21.8% and 19.5%, respectively. The increase was driven primarily by the lower tax benefit associated with vesting of restricted stock awards in the first quarter of 2025 as compared to the first quarter of 2024.
27
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS — SEGMENT INFORMATION
As discussed in Note 12 to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, we operate three reportable segments: Retail, Programs and Wholesale Brokerage. On a segmented basis, changes in amortization, depreciation and interest expenses generally result from activity associated with acquisitions. Likewise, other income consists primarily of miscellaneous income and therefore can fluctuate between comparable periods. As such, management primarily focuses on the Organic Revenue growth rate and EBITDAC Margin when evaluating the operational efficiency of a segment.
The reconciliation of commissions and fees included in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income to Organic Revenue, a non-GAAP financial measure, for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, and the growth rates for Organic Revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2025, including by segment, are as follows:
2025
Retail (1)
Programs
Wholesale Brokerage
Total
(in millions)
2025
2024
2025
2024
2025
2024
2025
2024
Commissions and fees
$
904
$
804
$
323
$
292
$
158
$
141
$
1,385
$
1,237
Total change
$
100
$
31
$
17
$
148
Total growth %
12.4
%
10.6
%
12.1
%
12.0
%
Profit-sharing contingent
commissions
(14
)
(14
)
(20
)
(26
)
(9
)
(6
)
(43
)
(46
)
Core commissions and fees
$
890
$
790
$
303
$
266
$
149
$
135
$
1,342
$
1,191
Acquisitions
(72
)
(2
)
—
(5
)
—
(79
)
—
Dispositions
—
(3
)
—
—
—
—
—
(3
)
Foreign Currency Translation
(1
)
(1
)
—
(2
)
Organic Revenue (2)
$
818
$
786
$
301
$
265
$
144
$
135
$
1,263
$
1,186
Organic Revenue growth (2)
$
32
$
36
$
9
$
77
Organic Revenue growth rate (2)
4.1
%
13.6
%
6.7
%
6.5
%
(1) The Retail segment includes commissions and fees reported as “Other” in the Segment Information table in Note 12 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of the Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, which includes corporate and consolidation items.
(2) A non-GAAP financial measure.
The reconciliation of commissions and fees included in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income to Organic Revenue, a non-GAAP financial measure, for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, including by segment, and the growth rates for Organic Revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2024, including by segment, are as follows:
2024
Retail (1)
Programs
Wholesale Brokerage
Total
(in millions)
2024
2023
2024
2023
2024
2023
2024
2023
Commissions and fees
$
804
$
731
$
292
$
254
$
141
$
123
$
1,237
$
1,108
Total change
$
73
$
38
$
18
$
129
Total growth %
10.0
%
15.0
%
14.6
%
11.6
%
Profit-sharing contingent
commissions
(14
)
(15
)
(26
)
(8
)
(6
)
(4
)
(46
)
(27
)
Core commissions and fees
$
790
$
716
$
266
$
246
$
135
$
119
$
1,191
$
1,081
Acquisition revenues
(19
)
—
(20
)
—
(2
)
—
(41
)
—
Dispositions
(1
)
—
(26
)
—
—
—
(27
)
Foreign Currency Translation
4
—
1
5
Organic Revenue (2)
$
771
$
719
$
246
$
220
$
133
$
120
$
1,150
$
1,059
Organic Revenue growth (2)
$
52
$
26
$
13
$
91
Organic Revenue growth rate (2)
7.2
%
11.8
%
10.8
%
8.6
%
(1) The Retail segment includes commissions and fees reported as “Other” in the Segment Information table in Note 12 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of the Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, which includes corporate and consolidation items.
(2) A non-GAAP financial measure.
28
The reconciliation of income before income taxes, included in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income, to EBITDAC, a non-GAAP measure, and EBITDAC - Adjusted, a non-GAAP measure, and Income Before Income Taxes Margin to EBITDAC Margin, a non-GAAP measure, and EBITDAC Margin - Adjusted, a non-GAAP measure, for the three months ended March 31, 2025, including by segment, is as follows:
(in millions)
Retail
Programs
Wholesale
Brokerage
Other
Total
Total Revenues
$
907
$
328
$
159
$
10
$
1,404
Income before income taxes
284
122
44
(23
)
427
Income Before Income Taxes Margin (1)
31.3
%
37.2
%
27.7
%
NMF
30.4
%
Amortization
37
12
4
—
53
Depreciation
6
3
1
1
11
Interest
15
7
2
22
46
Change in estimated acquisition
earn-out payables
(6
)
2
—
—
(4
)
EBITDAC (2)
336
146
51
—
533
EBITDAC Margin (2)
37.0
%
44.5
%
32.1
%
NMF
38.0
%
(Gain)/loss on disposal
2
—
—
—
2
EBITDAC - Adjusted (2)
$
338
$
146
$
51
$
—
$
535
EBITDAC Margin - Adjusted (2)
37.3
%
44.5
%
32.1
%
NMF
38.1
%
(1) “Income Before Income Taxes Margin” is defined as income before income taxes divided by total revenues.
(2) A non-GAAP financial measure.
NMF = Not a meaningful figure
The reconciliation of income before income taxes, included in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income, to EBITDAC, a non-GAAP measure, and EBITDAC - Adjusted, a non-GAAP measure, and Income Before Income Taxes Margin to EBITDAC Margin, a non-GAAP measure, and EBITDAC Margin - Adjusted, a non-GAAP measure, for the three months ended March 31, 2024, including by segment, is as follows:
(in millions)
Retail
Programs
Wholesale Brokerage
Other
Total
Total Revenues
$
806
$
298
$
142
$
12
$
1,258
Income before income taxes
238
101
41
(16
)
364
Income Before Income Taxes Margin (1)
29.5
%
33.9
%
28.9
%
NMF
28.9
%
Amortization
29
11
3
—
43
Depreciation
5
4
1
1
11
Interest
19
8
3
18
48
Change in estimated acquisition
earn-out payables
(1
)
1
(2
)
—
(2
)
EBITDAC (2)
290
125
46
3
464
EBITDAC Margin (2)
36.0
%
41.9
%
32.4
%
NMF
36.9
%
(Gain)/loss on disposal
1
1
—
—
2
EBITDAC - Adjusted (2)
$
291
$
126
$
46
$
3
$
466
EBITDAC Margin - Adjusted (2)
36.1
%
42.3
%
32.4
%
NMF
37.0
%
(1) “Income Before Income Taxes Margin” is defined as income before income taxes divided by total revenues.
(2) A non-GAAP financial measure.
NMF = Not a meaningful figure
Retail Segment
The Retail segment provides a broad range of insurance products and services to commercial, public and quasi-public, professional and individual insured customers, and non-insurance risk-mitigating products through our F&I businesses. Approximately 77% of the Retail segment’s commissions and fees revenue is commission based.
29
Financial information relating to our Retail segment is as follows:
Three months ended March 31,
(in millions, except percentages)
2025
2024
% Change
REVENUES
Core commissions and fees
$
891
$
789
12.9
%
Profit-sharing contingent commissions
14
14
—
%
Investment and other income
2
3
(33.3
%)
Total revenues
907
806
12.5
%
EXPENSES
Employee compensation and benefits
447
400
11.8
%
Other operating expenses
122
115
6.1
%
(Gain)/loss on disposal
2
1
100.0
%
Amortization
37
29
27.6
%
Depreciation
6
5
20.0
%
Interest
15
19
(21.1
%)
Change in estimated acquisition
earn-out payables
(6
)
(1
)
NMF
Total expenses
623
568
9.7
%
Income before income taxes
$
284
$
238
19.3
%
Income Before Income Taxes
Margin (1)
31.3
%
29.5
%
EBITDAC - Adjusted (2)
$
338
$
291
16.2
%
EBITDAC Margin - Adjusted (2)
37.3
%
36.1
%
Organic Revenue growth rate (2)
4.1
%
7.2
%
Employee compensation and benefits
relative to total revenues
49.3
%
49.6
%
Other operating expenses relative
to total revenues
13.5
%
14.3
%
(1) "Income Before Income Taxes Margin" is defined as income before income taxes divided by total revenues.
(2) A non-GAAP financial measure.
NMF = Not a meaningful figure
The Retail segment’s total revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased 12.5%, or $101 million, as compared to the same period in 2024, to $907 million. The $102 million increase in core commissions and fees revenue was driven primarily by: (i) approximately $72 million related to the core commissions and fees revenue from acquisitions that had no comparable revenues in the same period of 2024; (ii) an increase of $32 million related to net new and renewal business; and (iii) an offsetting decrease of $3 million related to commissions and fees recorded in 2024 from businesses since divested. Profit-sharing contingent commissions for the first quarter of 2025 remained flat at $14 million as compared to the same period in 2024. The Retail segment’s total commissions and fees increased by 12.7%, and the Organic Revenue growth rate was 4.1% for the first quarter of 2025. The Organic Revenue growth rate was driven by net new business written during the preceding twelve months and growth on renewals of existing customers. Renewal business was impacted by timing of certain nonrecurring revenue and rate and exposure unit growth.
Income before income taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased 19.3%, or $46 million, as compared to the same period in 2024, to $284 million. The primary factors driving this increase were: (i) a decrease in intercompany interest expense; (ii) a decrease in estimated acquisition earn-out payables, and (iii) the profit associated with the net increase in revenue as described above.
EBITDAC - Adjusted for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased 16.2%, or $47 million, as compared to the same period in 2024, to $338 million. EBITDAC Margin - Adjusted for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased to 37.3% from 36.1% in the same period in 2024. The change in EBITDAC Margin - Adjusted was primarily driven by: (i) the net increase in revenue as described above; (ii) the timing of revenues associated with recent acquisitions; (iii) leveraging our expense base, which was partially offset by; (iv) higher non-cash stock-based compensation.
Programs Segment
The Programs segment manages over 60 programs supported by over 100 well-capitalized carrier partners. In most cases, the insurance carriers that support these programs have delegated underwriting and, in many instances, claims-handling authority to our programs operations.
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These programs are generally distributed through a nationwide network of independent agents and Brown & Brown retail agents, and offer targeted products and services designed for specific industries, trade groups, professions, public entities and market niches. This segment also operates our write-your-own flood insurance carrier, WNFIC and operates two Captives. WNFIC’s underwriting business consists of policies written on behalf of and fully ceded to the NFIP, as well as excess flood policies, which are fully reinsured in the private market. The Captives provide additional underwriting capacity that enable growth in core commissions and fees, and allow us to participate in underwriting results with limited exposure to claims expenses. The Company has traditionally participated in underwriting profits through profit-sharing contingent commissions. These Captives give us another way to continue to participate in underwriting results while limiting exposure to claims expenses. The Captives focus on property insurance for earthquake and wind exposed properties underwritten by certain of our MGUs. The Captives limit the Company's exposure to claims expenses either through reinsurance or by participating in limited tranches of the underwriting risk.
The Programs segment operations can be grouped into five broad categories: Professional Programs, Personal Lines Programs, Commercial Programs, Public Entity-Related Programs and Specialty Programs. Approximately 79% of the Programs segment’s commissions and fees revenue is commission based.
Financial information relating to our Programs segment is as follows:
Three months ended March 31,
(in millions, except percentages)
2025
2024
% Change
REVENUES
Core commissions and fees
$
303
$
266
13.9
%
Profit-sharing contingent commissions
20
26
(23.1
)%
Investment and other income
5
6
(16.7
)%
Total revenues
328
298
10.1
%
EXPENSES
Employee compensation and benefits
113
109
3.7
%
Other operating expenses
69
63
9.5
%
(Gain)/loss on disposal
—
1
(100.0
)%
Amortization
12
11
9.1
%
Depreciation
3
4
(25.0
)%
Interest
7
8
(12.5
)%
Change in estimated acquisition
earn-out payables
2
1
100.0
%
Total expenses
206
197
4.6
%
Income before income taxes
$
122
$
101
20.8
%
Income Before Income Taxes
Margin (1)
37.2
%
33.9
%
EBITDAC - Adjusted (2)
$
146
$
126
15.9
%
EBITDAC Margin - Adjusted (2)
44.5
%
42.3
%
Organic Revenue growth rate (2)
13.6
%
11.8
%
Employee compensation and benefits
relative to total revenues
34.5
%
36.6
%
Other operating expenses relative
to total revenues
21.0
%
21.1
%
(1) "Income Before Income Taxes Margin" is defined as income before income taxes divided by total revenues.
(2) A non-GAAP financial measure.
NMF = Not a meaningful figure
The Programs segment’s total revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased 10.1%, or $30 million, as compared to the same period in 2024, to $328 million. The $37 million increased in core commissions and fees revenue was driven primarily by: (i) approximately $2 million related to the core commissions and fees revenue from acquisitions that had no comparable revenues in the same period of 2024; and (ii) approximately $36 million of net new business, renewal business, and fee revenues. Profit-sharing contingent commissions for the first quarter of 2025 decreased approximately $6 million as compared to the first quarter of 2024. This decrease is a result of the prior year including approximately $7 million resulting from the finalization of the calculation of profit-sharing contingent commissions that were estimated and accrued in 2023.
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The Programs segment’s total commissions and fees increased by 10.6%, and the Organic Revenue growth rate was 13.6% for the three months ended March 31, 2025. The Organic Revenue growth was driven by hurricane claims revenue, good retention, and exposure unit expansion, but was partially offset by declining rates on catastrophe ("CAT") property.
Income before income taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased 20.8%, or $21 million, as compared to the same period in 2024, to $122 million. Income before income taxes increased due to the drivers of EBITDAC - Adjusted described below as well as lower year over year interest expense and depreciation.
EBITDAC - Adjusted for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased 15.9%, or $20 million, from the same period in 2024, to $146 million. EBITDAC Margin - Adjusted for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased to 44.5% from 42.3% in the same period in 2024. EBITDAC Margin - Adjusted increased due to strong Organic Revenue growth and leveraging our expense base.
Wholesale Brokerage Segment
The Wholesale Brokerage segment markets and sells excess and surplus commercial and personal lines insurance, primarily through independent agents and brokers, including Brown & Brown retail agents. Approximately 85% of the Wholesale Brokerage segment’s commissions and fees revenue is commission based.
Financial information relating to our Wholesale Brokerage segment is as follows:
Three months ended March 31,
(in millions, except percentages)
2025
2024
% Change
REVENUES
Core commissions and fees
$
149
$
135
10.4
%
Profit-sharing contingent commissions
9
6
50.0
%
Investment and other income
1
1
—
%
Total revenues
159
142
12.0
%
EXPENSES
Employee compensation and benefits
86
77
11.7
%
Other operating expenses
22
19
15.8
%
(Gain)/loss on disposal
—
—
NMF
Amortization
4
3
33.3
%
Depreciation
1
1
—
%
Interest
2
3
(33.3
%)
Change in estimated acquisition
earn-out payables
—
(2
)
(100.0
%)
Total expenses
115
101
13.9
%
Income before income taxes
$
44
$
41
7.3
%
Income Before Income Taxes
Margin (1)
27.7
%
28.9
%
EBITDAC - Adjusted (2)
$
51
$
46
10.9
%
EBITDAC Margin - Adjusted (2)
32.1
%
32.4
%
Organic Revenue growth rate (2)
6.7
%
10.8
%
Employee compensation and benefits
relative to total revenues
54.1
%
54.2
%
Other operating expenses relative to
total revenues
13.8
%
13.4
%
(1) "Income Before Income Taxes Margin" is defined as income before income taxes divided by total revenues.
(2) A non-GAAP financial measure.
NMF = Not a meaningful figure
The Wholesale Brokerage segment’s total revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased 12.0%, or $17 million, as compared to the same period in 2024, to $159 million. The $14 million net increase in core commissions and fees revenue was driven primarily by: (i) $9 million related to net new and renewal business and (ii) $5 million related to the core commissions and fees revenue from acquisitions that had no comparable revenues in the same period of 2024. Profit-sharing contingent commissions for the first quarter of 2025 increased $3 million compared to the first quarter of 2024, driven by improved underwriting results, increased written premium and finalization
32
of prior year estimates of profit-sharing contingent commissions. The Wholesale Brokerage segment’s growth rate for total commissions and fees was 12.1%, and the Organic Revenue growth rate was 6.7% for the first quarter of 2025. The Organic Revenue growth rate was driven by net new business and exposure unit increases, which was partially offset by rate decreases for CAT property.
Income before income taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased 7.3%, or $3 million, as compared to the same period in 2024, to $44 million due primarily to the growth of EBITDAC - Adjusted described below.
EBITDAC - Adjusted for the three months ended March 31, 2025 increased 10.9%, or $5 million, as compared to the same period in 2024, to $51 million. EBITDAC Margin - Adjusted for the three months ended March 31, 2025 decreased to 32.1% from 32.4%, as compared to the same period in 2024. EBITDAC Margin - Adjusted decreased due to: (i) a higher impact of foreign exchange rate changes; and (ii) higher non-cash stock-based compensation, which were partially offset by leveraging our expense base.
Other
As discussed in Note 12 of the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, the “Other” column in the Segment Information table includes any revenue and expenses not allocated to reportable segments, and corporate-related items, including the intercompany interest expense charges to reporting segments.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
The Company seeks to maintain a conservative balance sheet and strong liquidity profile. Our capital requirements to operate as an insurance intermediary are low, and we have been able to grow and invest in our business through a combination of cash that has been generated from operations, the disciplined use of debt and the issuance of equity as part of the purchase price consideration to acquire certain businesses. We have the ability to utilize our Revolving Credit Facility under the Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (the “Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement”), which as of March 31, 2025 provided up to $400 million in available cash. We believe that we have access to additional funds, if needed, through the capital markets or private placements to obtain further debt financing under the current market conditions. The Company believes that its existing cash, cash equivalents, short-term investment portfolio and funds generated from operations, together with the funds available under the Revolving Credit Facility and the Loan Agreement, dated March 31, 2022, which provided term loan capacity of $800 million (the “Loan Agreement”), will be sufficient to satisfy its normal liquidity needs, including principal payments on our long-term debt, for the next 12 months and in the long term.
The Revolving Credit Facility contains an expansion option for up to an additional $500 million of borrowing capacity, subject to the approval of participating lenders. Additionally, the Company may, subject to satisfaction of certain conditions, including receipt of additional term loan commitments by new or existing lenders, increase either Term Loan Commitment under the existing Loan Agreement or the term loans issued thereunder or issue new tranches of term loans in an aggregate additional amount of up to $400 million. Including the expansion options under all existing credit agreements, the Company has access to up to $1,300 million of incremental borrowing capacity as of March 31, 2025.
Cash and cash equivalents totaled $669 million at March 31, 2025 reflecting a decrease of $6 million from the $675 million balance at December 31, 2024.
Operating Cash Flows
Our operating cash flows are primarily derived from the net income generated during the period adjusted for non-cash expenses, which include depreciation, amortization, changes in estimated earnout payables, non-cash stock based compensation and deferred income taxes while excluding gains and losses on sales/disposals of investments, businesses, fixed assets and customer accounts, payments on acquisition earn-outs in excess of original estimated payables and changes in working capital which relate primarily to the timing of payments of accrued liabilities and receipts of receivables from commissions and fees related to our revenues. Our ratio of current assets to current liabilities (the “current ratio”) was 1.20 and 1.10 for March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.
Cash flows generated from operating activities totaled $213 million and $13 million for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, representing an increase of $200 million. Operating cash flows generated in 2025 included $334 million from net income before non-controlling interests with $83 million of non-cash adjustments, offset by $204 million from changes in working capital. The growth in cash from operations is primarily due to higher operating margins resulting from strong Organic Revenue growth and a $120 million reduction in our taxes paid, net of refunds related to the 2023 deferral of $121 million related to certain federal income tax payments due to Hurricane Idalia tax relief, which was announced by the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") on August 30, 2023. These deferred income tax payments were paid by the IRS deadline of February 15, 2024.
Investing Cash Flows
Cash flows used for investing activities were $79 million and $88 million for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, a decrease of $9 million, or 10.2%.
33
Acquisitions
During the three-month period ended March 31, 2025, the Company completed 13 acquisitions (including book purchases) and paid $67 million, net of cash, and cash and cash equivalents held in a fiduciary capacity acquired, most notably for the purchase of NBS Insurance Agency for $54 million. Net cash paid for acquisitions decreased $9 million in the three-month period ended March 31, 2025, down from $76 million during the same period in 2024.
Dispositions
The Company received cash proceeds from the sale of businesses, fixed assets and customer accounts totaling $9 million during the three-month period ended March 31, 2025 compared to no proceeds received in the same period in 2024.
Capital Expenditures
Capital expenditures amounted to $17 million and $13 million in the three-month periods ended March 31 2025 and 2024, respectively, and included purchases of furniture and fixtures, leasehold improvements related to office moves and hardware and software purchases related to information technology investments.
Financing Cash Flows
Cash flows used in financing activities totaled $218 million and $67 million in the three-month periods ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, an increase of $151 million.
Fiduciary Receivables and Liabilities
Fiduciary cash represents funds in the Company's possession collected from customers to be remitted to insurance companies and funds from insurance companies to be distributed to insureds for the settlement of claims or refunds. The net change in fiduciary cash is represented by the net change in fiduciary liabilities and fiduciary receivables and is presented as cash flows from financing activities in the statement of cash flows. Financing cash flows reflect a decrease of $90 million and $26 million in the three-month periods ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, related to fiduciary receivables and liabilities.
Acquisition Earn-outs
Payments on acquisition earn-outs related to the original acquisition date estimates totaled $26 million and $39 million in the three-month periods ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
Dividends
During the three-month periods ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, the Company paid cash dividends of $43 million and $38 million, respectively, an increase of $5 million, or 13.2%. On April 28, 2025, the board of directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per share to be paid on May 21, 2025.
Debt
Net payments from long term debt totaled $19 million in the three-month period ended March 31, 2025, compared to net cash proceeds of $87 million in the same period of 2024.
Total debt at March 31, 2025 was $3,806 million net of unamortized discount and debt issuance costs, which was a decrease of $18 million compared to December 31, 2024. The decrease includes the repayment of $169 million of floating-rate debt balance, offset by $150 million of net additions to the Revolving Credit Facility and the amortization of discounted debt related to our various unsecured senior notes and debt issuance cost amortization of $1 million.
During the three months ended March 31, 2025, the Company repaid $7 million of principal related to the Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement term loan through the quarterly scheduled principal payments. The Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement term loan had an outstanding balance of $187 million as of March 31, 2025. The Company's next scheduled principal payment is due in June 2025 and is equal to $6 million.
During the three months ended March 31, 2025, the Company repaid $12 million of principal related to the Term Loans issued under the Term A-2 Loan Commitment (“Term A-2 Loans”) through quarterly scheduled principal payments. The Term A-2 Loans had an outstanding balance of $400 million as of March 31, 2025. The Company’s next scheduled principal payment is $13 million due in June 2025.
During the three months ended March 31, 2025, the Company repaid the outstanding balance on the Term A-1 Loan Commitment (the “Term A-1 Loan Commitment”) of $150 million related to the Loan Agreement, in accordance with the terms of the Loan Agreement using proceeds from the Revolving Credit Facility in connection with the Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement.
34
Contractual Cash Obligations
As of March 31, 2025, our contractual cash obligations were as follows:
Payments Due by Period
(in millions)
Total
Less than
1 year
1-3
years
4-5
years
After
5 years
Long-term debt
$
3,838
$
75
$
913
$
350
$
2,500
Other liabilities
252
13
21
18
200
Operating leases
258
51
89
58
60
Interest obligations
1,543
177
280
226
860
Maximum future acquisition contingent payments (1)
419
123
291
5
—
Total contractual cash obligations (2)
$
6,310
$
439
$
1,594
$
657
$
3,620
(1) Includes $143 million of current and non-current estimated acquisition earn-out payables. Earn-out payables for acquisitions not denominated in U.S. dollars are measured at the current foreign exchange rate. Four of the estimated acquisition earn-out payables assumed included provisions with no maximum potential earn-out amount. The amount recorded for these acquisitions as of March 31, 2025 is $1 million. The Company believes a significant increase in this amount is unlikely.
(2) Does not include approximately $43 million of current liability for a dividend of $0.15 per share approved by the Board of Directors on April 28, 2025.
35
ITEM 3. Quantitative and Qualita tive Disclosures About Market Risk
Market risk is the potential loss arising from adverse changes in market rates and prices, such as interest rates, foreign exchange rates and equity prices. We are exposed to market risk through our investments, revolving credit line, term loan agreements and international operations.
Our invested assets are held primarily as cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, available-for-sale marketable debt securities, non-marketable debt securities, certificates of deposit, U.S. Treasury securities, and professionally managed short-term duration fixed income funds. These investments are subject to interest rate risk. The fair value of our invested assets at March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024 approximated their respective carrying values due to their short-term duration and therefore, such market risk is not considered to be material.
We do not actively invest or trade in equity securities. In addition, we generally dispose of any significant equity securities received in conjunction with an acquisition shortly after the acquisition date.
As of March 31, 2025, we had $987 million outstanding under the Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement and the Loan Agreement tied to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”). These agreements bear interest on a floating basis and are therefore subject to changes in the associated interest expense. The effect of an immediate hypothetical 10% change in interest rates would not have a material effect on our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
The majority of our international operations do not have material transactions in currencies other than their functional currency which would expose the Company to transactional currency rate risk. We are subject to translational exchange rate risk having businesses operating outside of the U.S. in the following functional currencies, British pounds, Canadian dollar, and euros. Based upon our foreign currency rate exposure as of March 31, 2025, an immediate 10% hypothetical change of foreign currency exchange rates would not have a material effect on our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.