Markel Corporation (MKL)
NYSE:MKL
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Markel
(NYSE:MKL)
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Rating:68Neutral
Price Target:
$2,028.00
▲(1.99% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:05/20/26
The score is driven mainly by solid financial performance (profitability, cash generation, and moderate leverage) and a reasonably constructive earnings update with better underwriting and ongoing buybacks. This is tempered by weak technical trend signals (below key moving averages with negative MACD) and limited valuation support given the negative P/E and no provided dividend yield.
Positive Factors
Underwriting improvement and combined-ratio recovery
A sustained improvement in the combined ratio toward the low-90s reflects stronger underwriting discipline and pricing adequacy across specialty lines. Over 2–6 months this supports recurring underwriting profitability, reduces dependence on investment returns, and improves capital generation for underwriting growth and capital returns.
Negative Factors
Material investment volatility and realized losses
Large public equity markdowns converted a historically supportive investment engine into a major earnings swing. Persistent equity exposure means investment returns will materially influence GAAP operating results and capital over the medium term, increasing earnings volatility and stress on reported operating income.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Underwriting improvement and combined-ratio recovery
A sustained improvement in the combined ratio toward the low-90s reflects stronger underwriting discipline and pricing adequacy across specialty lines. Over 2–6 months this supports recurring underwriting profitability, reduces dependence on investment returns, and improves capital generation for underwriting growth and capital returns.
Read all positive factors
Markel (MKL) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$23.26B
Dividend YieldN/A
Average Volume (3M)75.77K
Price to Earnings (P/E)―
Beta (1Y)0.60
Revenue Growth2.96%
EPS Growth1.82%
CountryUS
Employees22,000
SectorFinancial
Sector Strength70
IndustryInsurance - Property & Casualty
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)139.29
Shares Outstanding12,513,710
10 Day Avg. Volume68,543
30 Day Avg. Volume75,772
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-0.86
Price to Book (P/B)1.47
Price to Sales (P/S)1.65
P/FCF Ratio10.69
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.03
Enterprise Value/Revenue1.45
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit2.35
Enterprise Value/Ebitda9.23
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$2,052.33Price Target Upside3.22% Upside
Rating ConsensusHold
Number of Analyst Covering3
EPS Forecast (FY)111.1
Revenue Forecast (FY)$15.23B
Markel Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Markel Corporation, a diverse financial holding company, markets and underwrites specialty insurance products in the United States, Bermuda, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Canada, the Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. Its Insurance segment o...
How the Company Makes Money
Markel makes money through several interconnected sources tied to underwriting, investments, and wholly owned businesses. (1) Insurance underwriting: Markel sells specialty property-and-casualty insurance policies and earns premiums. Profitability...
Markel Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Apr 28, 2026
(Q1-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Aug 05, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Neutral
The call conveyed a mixed but constructive picture: material operational improvements within the insurance business (higher adjusted insurance earnings, improved combined ratios, international growth and underlying GWP growth excluding strategic exits) and disciplined capital deployment (share repurchases) were offset by sizable near-term investment losses, a large swing to operating loss, a sharp decline in operating cash flow (partly driven by one-time reinsurance payments) and some segment-level pressures (industrial margins, financial impairment and a collateral shortfall disclosure). The company emphasized strategic exits that reduce top-line premium but should improve long-term profitability and reiterated balance sheet strength and long-term confidence.Positive Updates
Adjusted Operating Income Growth
Markel Group adjusted operating income totaled $498 million, a 4% increase versus Q1 2025, driven primarily by improved underwriting performance in Markel Insurance.
Negative Updates
Large Net Investment Losses
Net investment losses were $728 million in Q1 2026 versus $149 million in Q1 2025, driven by public equity declines (public equity losses were the primary contributor), flipping the quarter to an investment-related loss.
Read all updates
Q1-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Adjusted Operating Income Growth
Markel Group adjusted operating income totaled $498 million, a 4% increase versus Q1 2025, driven primarily by improved underwriting performance in Markel Insurance.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Guidance from the call emphasized continued disciplined capital allocation and improving insurance performance: management said full‑year 2026 underwriting gross written premiums will be reduced by roughly $2.0 billion due to the exit of Global Re and the Hagerty fronting change, but adjusted underwriting GWP ex those impacts grew 10% in Q1; Markel Insurance Q1 adjusted operating income was $369M (group adjusted operating income $498M, +4% y/y), earned premium was just under $2.0B, and the insurance combined ratio improved to ~92.8–93% (versus 96% a year ago) with catastrophe losses $35M (≈2 pts) and prior‑year reserve releases of 5 pts; the Global Re runoff reported a 114% combined ratio and unfavorably impacted the segment by ~2 pts. On capital and investments, fixed‑income portfolio yield was 3.7% with reinvestment yields ~4.1%, net investment income was $256M (+8% y/y), the public equity portfolio was down ~5.2% in Q1 (market value $12.3B, pretax unrealized gains $8.2B) but management expects long‑term equity compounding (illustratively citing ~8% total return), and they expect no credit losses in the fixed‑income portfolio while remaining matched in currency and duration to insurance liabilities. Capital return remains a priority: the company repurchased $134M of common stock in Q1, reducing shares outstanding to ~12.5M (≈10% below the ~14M peak) and said at current prices it expects to buy the next 10% of shares in less than five years.Markel Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
83
Very Positive
Balance Sheet
78
Positive
Cash Flow
72
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 16.57B | 16.59B | 16.75B | 15.71B | 11.81B | 12.92B |
| Gross Profit | 10.18B | 11.51B | 9.27B | 8.08B | 3.41B | 5.89B |
| EBITDA | 2.59B | 2.94B | 4.18B | 3.16B | 353.94M | 3.65B |
| Net Income | 1.77B | 2.11B | 2.75B | 2.00B | -216.28M | 2.42B |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 68.60B | 68.91B | 47.35B | 43.44B | 49.79B | 48.48B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 10.86B | 11.03B | 4.19B | 4.33B | 18.66B | 18.37B |
| Total Debt | 4.38B | 4.30B | 5.65B | 4.97B | 4.10B | 4.82B |
| Total Liabilities | 49.95B | 49.80B | 29.88B | 27.92B | 36.05B | 33.28B |
| Stockholders Equity | 18.13B | 18.60B | 16.92B | 14.98B | 13.15B | 14.72B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 2.19B | 2.55B | 2.34B | 2.53B | 2.45B | 2.13B |
| Operating Cash Flow | 2.40B | 2.76B | 2.59B | 2.79B | 2.71B | 2.27B |
| Investing Cash Flow | -1.79B | -1.31B | -2.40B | -2.70B | -1.67B | -2.94B |
| Financing Cash Flow | -1.12B | -1.09B | -297.88M | -999.72M | -595.31M | 369.77M |
Markel Technical Analysis
Negative
1988.36
Price Trends
1882.46
Negative
1970.34
Negative
1982.57
Negative
Market Momentum
-8.86
Negative
47.15
Neutral
64.65
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For MKL, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 1988.36 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 1820.62, above the 50-day MA of 1882.46, and above the 200-day MA of 1982.57, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of -8.86 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 47.15 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 64.65 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for MKL.
Markel Risk Analysis
Markel disclosed 21 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Markel reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Markel Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (68)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
80 Outperform | $25.84B | 22.22 | 17.98% | 2.10% | 17.87% | 90.86% | |
77 Outperform | $25.07B | 12.62 | 19.48% | 1.88% | 6.61% | 9.14% | |
76 Outperform | $11.28B | 13.92 | 18.76% | 6.71% | -1.65% | 10.67% | |
68 Neutral | $23.26B | -25.32 | 9.84% | ― | 2.96% | 1.82% | |
68 Neutral | $18.00B | 11.42 | 9.92% | 3.81% | 9.73% | 1.22% | |
67 Neutral | $22.45B | 9.62 | 10.21% | 0.23% | 4.17% | 29.30% | |
65 Neutral | $11.83B | 9.61 | 11.94% | 8.03% | 4.05% | 35.90% |
* Financial Sector Average
MKL
Markel
1,847.87
-51.45
-2.71%
AFG
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133.58
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CINF
Cincinnati Financial
162.94
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CNA
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42.79
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L
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106.98
19.09
21.72%
WRB
W. R. Berkley Corporation
65.29
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-8.53%
Markel Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyFinancial DisclosuresShareholder Meetings
Markel Highlights Growth, Capital Returns at Annual Meeting
Positive
May 20, 2026
On May 20, 2026, Markel Group’s leadership presented to shareholders at the company’s annual meeting, highlighting substantial growth in operating revenues, adjusted operating income, and earned premiums between the 2011–2015, 20...
Business Operations and StrategyFinancial Disclosures
Markel Highlights Strong 2025 Results in Shareholder Letter
Positive
Feb 27, 2026
On February 26, 2026, Markel Group posted its 2025 Letter to Shareholders, highlighting a strong year in which operating revenues reached $15.5 billion and operating income came in at $3.2 billion, with a combined ratio of 94% and invested assets ...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.