Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF)
NYSE:SLF
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Sun Life Financial
(NYSE:SLF)
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Rating:71Outperform
Price Target:
C$106.00
â–²(10.06% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:05/09/26
The score is driven primarily by solid financial performance (steady profitability, improved leverage, and strong recent cash generation) and a supportive earnings-call outlook (strong underlying ROE and sales momentum plus enhanced capital returns). Technicals add a modestly positive backdrop with an established uptrend but neutral momentum, while valuation moderates the overall score due to a relatively high P/E despite a solid dividend yield.
Positive Factors
Return on Equity & Underlying Earnings
Sun Life's underlying ROE near 19% with a stated path to 20% and steady underlying EPS growth signal durable underwriting and pricing discipline. Sustained mid‑teens-plus ROE supports capital returns, internal reinvestment, and long‑term shareholder distributions even through market cycles.
Negative Factors
Uneven Revenue Growth
Top‑line has been choppy with declines in 2024 and TTM 2026, reducing visibility on sustainable growth. This uneven revenue trend pressures operating leverage and makes future earnings more sensitive to market cycles, mix shifts, and the company's ability to convert sales momentum into stable recurring revenue.
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Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Return on Equity & Underlying Earnings
Sun Life's underlying ROE near 19% with a stated path to 20% and steady underlying EPS growth signal durable underwriting and pricing discipline. Sustained mid‑teens-plus ROE supports capital returns, internal reinvestment, and long‑term shareholder distributions even through market cycles.
Read all positive factors
Sun Life Financial (SLF) vs. iShares MSCI Canada ETF (EWC)
Market Cap
C$54.85B
Dividend Yield4.11%
Average Volume (3M)1.62M
Price to Earnings (P/E)22.5
Beta (1Y)0.65
Revenue Growth-10.77%
EPS Growth-1.88%
CountryCA
Employees31,768
SectorFinancial
Sector Strength70
IndustryInsurance - Diversified
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)5.38
Shares Outstanding553,873,350
10 Day Avg. Volume2,423,924
30 Day Avg. Volume1,617,962
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$102.22Price Target Upside6.14% Upside
Rating ConsensusModerate Buy
Number of Analyst Covering9
EPS Forecast (FY)7.94
Revenue Forecast (FY)C$5.60B
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:May 06, 2026
(Q1-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Aug 06, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call emphasized strong underlying operating performance, particularly in Asia, Canada wealth, and stop-loss in the U.S., along with meaningful progress on strategic M&A and scale in asset management and continued capital returns to shareholders. Offsetting items included one-time charges and market-related impacts that reduced reported net income, short-term underperformance at SLC driven by timing of catch-up and seed fees, MFS U.S. retail outflows, and near-term pressure in the U.S. Dental business due to deliberate repricing and exits. On balance, operational momentum and capital strength outweighed the transitory and timing-related challenges discussed.Positive Updates
Solid Underlying Earnings and EPS Growth
Underlying net income of $1.05 billion, underlying EPS growth of 4% year-over-year, and underlying ROE of 18.6% (on path to the medium-term objective of 20%).
Negative Updates
Reported Net Income Impacted by Market and One-Time Items
Total reported net income was $465 million; reported net income before notable items $775 million after $220 million of market impacts (yield curve, equity and real estate performance). The quarter included a $165 million acquisition-related charge and a $145 million provision for a proposed legal settlement.
Read all updates
Q1-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Solid Underlying Earnings and EPS Growth
Underlying net income of $1.05 billion, underlying EPS growth of 4% year-over-year, and underlying ROE of 18.6% (on path to the medium-term objective of 20%).
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Management reiterated its medium‑term guidance and capital priorities while providing metric targets and near‑term outlook: Q1 underlying net income was $1.05B with underlying EPS up 4% and underlying ROE of 18.6% (on a path to the 20% MTO), dividend raised 4% to $0.96/share (quarterly +$0.04) with a 49% payout ratio and an NCIB to repurchase up to 10M shares (~1.7%); capital and balance‑sheet metrics included a LICAT of 143% (down 14 ppt from 157% — ~10 ppt from $2.4B of SLC deployments, ~250M deployed per 1 ppt), holdco cash $1.3B, financial leverage 23.2%, book value per share $41.10 (+2%), and total CSM $14.7B (+8% YoY, converting to earnings at roughly 8–10% over time). Business guidance highlighted continued momentum and targets: total insurance sales $1.7B (+17% YoY; individual $1.2B, +32%; group $552M), Asia sales +49% to >$1B (Hong Kong +75%, Indonesia +40%; Asia CSM $7B, +12%), Canada AUMA $261B (+12%), Sun Life Asset Management AUM $1.4T with SLC being built into a $400B platform, SLAM underlying net income $265M (‑3% YoY) but SLC fundraising/net flows ~US$4.4B/~$4B and $2B net inflows into ETFs/FI/SMA; outlook: SLC expected to be moderate in 2026 but to rebound solidly through the rest of the year (20% CAGR medium‑term target unchanged), U.S. medical stop‑loss sales +43% YoY with morbidity improvement (CAD 8M), a path to improved U.S. dental margins in H2, and a combined Group Benefits after‑tax margin target of ~7%.Sun Life Financial Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
72
Positive
Balance Sheet
68
Positive
Cash Flow
74
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 35.97B | 38.45B | 34.48B | 36.35B | 3.43B | 35.69B |
| Gross Profit | 14.49B | 5.32B | 4.84B | 4.31B | 4.07B | 14.71B |
| EBITDA | 4.74B | 5.32B | 5.00B | 4.48B | 4.60B | 5.86B |
| Net Income | 3.28B | 3.75B | 3.17B | 3.34B | 3.02B | 4.37B |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 398.31B | 398.45B | 370.72B | 333.24B | 330.91B | 345.37B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 8.79B | 29.46B | 27.72B | 27.49B | 11.22B | 12.28B |
| Total Debt | 8.37B | 18.79B | 15.02B | 13.28B | 13.39B | 10.21B |
| Total Liabilities | 372.36B | 372.96B | 344.59B | 309.04B | 301.53B | 317.30B |
| Stockholders Equity | 25.01B | 25.23B | 26.05B | 23.58B | 27.45B | 26.31B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 7.17B | 2.65B | 2.39B | 5.44B | 8.00B | -1.94B |
| Operating Cash Flow | 7.30B | 2.80B | 2.53B | 5.61B | 4.31B | -1.86B |
| Investing Cash Flow | -4.75B | -320.00M | -337.00M | -559.00M | -2.86B | -803.00M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -1.53B | -2.64B | -3.88B | -3.09B | -71.00M | -260.00M |
Sun Life Financial Technical Analysis
Positive
96.31
Price Trends
91.94
Positive
89.51
Positive
85.33
Positive
Market Momentum
1.54
Positive
63.90
Neutral
53.50
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 96.31 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 97.26, above the 50-day MA of 91.94, and above the 200-day MA of 85.33, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 1.54 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 63.90 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 53.50 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
80 Outperform | C$70.28B | 11.83 | 15.17% | 3.62% | 4.22% | 13.75% | |
72 Outperform | C$86.72B | 16.83 | 12.65% | 3.49% | 15.84% | 31.26% | |
71 Outperform | C$54.85B | 22.52 | 12.98% | 4.11% | -10.77% | -1.88% | |
71 Outperform | C$15.31B | 24.06 | 12.80% | 2.11% | -1.40% | 14.51% | |
68 Neutral | $18.00B | 11.42 | 9.92% | 3.81% | 9.73% | 1.22% | |
65 Neutral | C$50.30B | 27.57 | 10.81% | 3.28% | 19.07% | -3.74% |
* Financial Sector Average
TSE:SLF
Sun Life Financial
99.03
14.33
16.92%
TSE:MFC
Manulife Financial
51.72
9.16
21.51%
TSE:GWO
Great-West Lifeco
77.75
28.19
56.88%
TSE:IAG
iA Financial Corporation Inc
170.97
33.44
24.31%
TSE:POW
Power Corp of Canada
79.76
30.92
63.30%
TSE:BNT
Brookfield Wealth Solutions
62.62
8.11
14.87%
Sun Life Financial Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyStock BuybackFinancial DisclosuresM&A Transactions
Sun Life Fully Acquires BGO and Crescent to Bolster Alternatives Platform
Positive
Mar 30, 2026
Sun Life Financial has completed the purchase of the remaining equity stakes in BGO, its global real estate investment management and services advisor, and Crescent Capital Group, its global alternative credit investment manager. The company paid ...
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.