Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF)
NYSE:SLF
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Sun Life Financial
(NYSE:SLF)
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Rating:72Outperform
Price Target:
C$96.00
â–²(8.47% Upside)
Action:ReiteratedDate:03/26/26
The score is driven primarily by solid financial performance and a constructive earnings call (strong underlying growth/ROE and capital strength), supported by an attractive P/E and dividend yield. These positives are tempered by weaker near-term technical momentum and ongoing execution/volatility risks highlighted on the call (market-related earnings swings, MFS outflows, and dental/stop-loss and corporate-cost headwinds).
Positive Factors
Capital strength (LICAT 157%)
A LICAT ratio of 157% gives Sun Life a substantive regulatory and solvency buffer, supporting payment of claims and absorbing market-related valuation swings. This durable capital strength underpins planned buy-ups, ongoing underwriting activity and optionality on returns for the next several quarters.
Negative Factors
Rising debt / leverage trend
An upward debt trend and modest leverage (debt/equity ~0.49–0.58 historically) reduce financial flexibility and increase interest and refinancing risk if profitability softens. Persistently higher leverage can constrain capital deployment and amplify stress during market or underwriting volatility over months.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Capital strength (LICAT 157%)
A LICAT ratio of 157% gives Sun Life a substantive regulatory and solvency buffer, supporting payment of claims and absorbing market-related valuation swings. This durable capital strength underpins planned buy-ups, ongoing underwriting activity and optionality on returns for the next several quarters.
Read all positive factors
Sun Life Financial (SLF) vs. iShares MSCI Canada ETF (EWC)
Market Cap
C$49.02B
Dividend Yield4.11%
Average Volume (3M)2.46M
Price to Earnings (P/E)12.9
Beta (1Y)0.63
Revenue Growth-19.88%
EPS Growth-13.92%
CountryCA
Employees31,768
SectorFinancial
Sector Strength70
IndustryInsurance - Diversified
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)1.96
Shares Outstanding553,873,350
10 Day Avg. Volume1,617,211
30 Day Avg. Volume2,463,603
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.77
Price to Book (P/B)1.91
Price to Sales (P/S)1.25
P/FCF Ratio18.18
Enterprise Value/Market CapN/A
Enterprise Value/RevenueN/A
Enterprise Value/Gross ProfitN/A
Enterprise Value/EbitdaN/A
Forecast
1Y Price Target
C$97.55Price Target Upside10.22% Upside
Rating ConsensusModerate Buy
Number of Analyst Covering9
EPS Forecast (FY)7.98
Revenue Forecast (FY)C$9.57B
Sun Life Financial Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Sun Life Financial Inc., a financial services company, provides insurance, wealth, and asset management solutions to individuals and corporate clients worldwide. It offers term and permanent life, as well as personal health, dental, critical illne...
How the Company Makes Money
Sun Life primarily makes money through (1) insurance operations and (2) fee-based wealth and asset management, supplemented by investment income on its balance sheet.
1) Insurance premiums and policy charges: A significant portion of revenue is g...
Sun Life Financial Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Feb 11, 2026
(Q4-2025)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:May 06, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
Overall the call conveyed strong underlying operational performance across diversified businesses (notably Asia protection, SLC Management, Canada wealth and U.S. stop-loss), excellent capital metrics (LICAT 157%) and progress against medium-term targets. Key challenges highlighted include market-related volatility that reduced reported earnings, MFS net outflows and continued remediation and multi-year work on Dental and stop-loss experience. Management presented these issues as being under active remediation and framed some impacts (corporate financing, buy-ups) as temporary, supporting a constructive outlook.Positive Updates
Strong Q4 and Full-Year Underlying Results
Q4 underlying net income of $1.1 billion (up 13% YoY) and underlying EPS of $1.96 (up 17% YoY). Full-year underlying EPS growth of 12% and full-year underlying earnings growth of 9%. Q4 underlying ROE of 19.1% and full-year underlying ROE of 18.2%.
Negative Updates
Reported vs. Underlying Earnings Gap
Reported net income for the quarter was $722 million, ~34% lower than underlying net income due to market-related impacts (risk-free rates, swap and credit spreads), timing mark-to-market items, lower-than-expected tax-exempt investment income and an ACMA charge.
Read all updates
Q4-2025 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong Q4 and Full-Year Underlying Results
Q4 underlying net income of $1.1 billion (up 13% YoY) and underlying EPS of $1.96 (up 17% YoY). Full-year underlying EPS growth of 12% and full-year underlying earnings growth of 9%. Q4 underlying ROE of 19.1% and full-year underlying ROE of 18.2%.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
The company reiterated its medium‑term objectives and gave near‑term guidance and timing: underlying EPS growth target above 10% (2025 full‑year underlying EPS growth 12%, Q4 underlying EPS $1.96, +17% YoY), Q4 underlying net income $1.1bn (+13% YoY) and underlying ROE of 19.1% (FY 18.2%), a dividend payout ratio of ~47%, and an expected corporate underlying loss of roughly $110–120m per quarter going forward; capital remains strong with a LICAT ratio of 157% (pro forma ~150% after the planned BGO and Crescent buy‑ups expected in H1 2026), management equity at SLC to own up to 25%, SLC’s 2025 underlying net income $242m (above its $235m target) with Q4 fee‑related earnings $99m and a 27.5% pretax fee margin (+450 bps YoY) and fee‑earning AUM $200bn, total AUM >$1.6tn (third‑party AUM $1.2tn), new business CSM $440m (+44% YoY) and Asia CSM $6.7bn (+18% YoY), and capital deployment plans to complete the buy‑ups in H1 2026, prioritize organic investment and the BGO/Crescent purchases, and then resume share buybacks later in the year (2025 organic capital generation $4.2bn, returns to shareholders $3.7bn including ~ $400m Q4 buybacks and $1.7bn YTD repurchases).Sun Life Financial Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
76
Positive
Balance Sheet
70
Positive
Cash Flow
67
Positive
| Breakdown | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 38.45B | 34.48B | 36.35B | 3.43B | 35.69B |
| Gross Profit | 5.32B | 4.84B | 4.31B | 4.07B | 14.71B |
| EBITDA | 5.32B | 5.00B | 4.48B | 4.60B | 5.86B |
| Net Income | 3.75B | 3.17B | 3.34B | 3.02B | 4.37B |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 398.45B | 370.72B | 333.24B | 330.91B | 345.37B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 29.46B | 27.72B | 27.49B | 11.22B | 12.28B |
| Total Debt | 18.79B | 15.02B | 13.28B | 13.39B | 10.21B |
| Total Liabilities | 372.96B | 344.59B | 309.04B | 301.53B | 317.30B |
| Stockholders Equity | 25.23B | 26.05B | 23.58B | 27.45B | 26.31B |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | 2.65B | 2.39B | 5.44B | 8.00B | -1.94B |
| Operating Cash Flow | 2.80B | 2.53B | 5.61B | 4.31B | -1.86B |
| Investing Cash Flow | -320.00M | -337.00M | -559.00M | -2.86B | -803.00M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -2.64B | -3.88B | -3.09B | -71.00M | -260.00M |
Sun Life Financial Technical Analysis
Positive
88.50
Price Trends
87.51
Positive
85.27
Positive
83.60
Positive
Market Momentum
-0.12
Negative
56.84
Neutral
79.62
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For TSE:SLF, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 88.5 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 86.69, above the 50-day MA of 87.51, and above the 200-day MA of 83.60, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of -0.12 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 56.84 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 79.62 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for TSE:SLF.
Sun Life Financial Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (68)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
72 Outperform | C$49.02B | 12.88 | 14.68% | 4.11% | -19.88% | -13.92% | |
72 Outperform | C$81.44B | 14.68 | 11.34% | 3.49% | 5.46% | 10.52% | |
72 Outperform | C$14.18B | 15.09 | 13.62% | 2.11% | -25.13% | 16.40% | |
70 Outperform | C$43.23B | 17.80 | 12.83% | 3.28% | -9.03% | 44.14% | |
68 Neutral | $18.00B | 11.42 | 9.92% | 3.81% | 9.73% | 1.22% | |
65 Neutral | C$59.66B | 14.06 | 13.98% | 3.62% | -20.64% | 14.88% |
* Financial Sector Average
TSE:SLF
Sun Life Financial
88.50
15.07
20.52%
TSE:MFC
Manulife Financial
48.57
11.01
29.30%
TSE:GWO
Great-West Lifeco
66.00
14.81
28.93%
TSE:IAG
iA Financial Corporation Inc
157.39
38.47
32.36%
TSE:POW
Power Corp of Canada
68.40
21.51
45.86%
TSE:BNT
Brookfield Wealth Solutions
58.35
15.10
34.93%
Sun Life Financial Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Sun Life Adds Veteran Asset Management Leader Marcia Moffat to Board
Positive
Mar 6, 2026
Sun Life Financial has appointed veteran financial executive Marcia Moffat to its board of directors, effective March 6, 2026, adding deep expertise in asset management, banking and governance. Moffat’s three-decade career includes senior le...
Business Operations and StrategyFinancial Disclosures
Sun Life Posts Double-Digit Earnings Growth and Strong Capital in 2025
Positive
Feb 12, 2026
Sun Life Financial reported strong fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results, with underlying net income rising 13% in the quarter to $1.09 billion and 9% for the year to $4.2 billion, driving underlying EPS gains of 17% in Q4 and 12% for 2025. Re...
Business Operations and StrategyDividends
Sun Life holds common share dividend steady, declares Q1 2026 payouts
Positive
Feb 12, 2026
Sun Life Financial Inc.’s board has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.92 per common share, unchanged from the prior quarter, payable on March 31, 2026 to shareholders of record as of February 25, 2026. The board also approved scheduled div...
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.