Insurance holding company Kemper (NYSE: KMPR) fell short of the market’s revenue expectations in Q4 CY2025, with sales falling 4.8% year on year to $1.13 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.25 per share was 70.8% below analysts’ consensus estimates.
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Kemper (KMPR) Q4 CY2025 Highlights:
- Net Premiums Earned: $1.04 billion vs analyst estimates of $1.11 billion (3.5% year-on-year decline, 6.1% miss)
- Revenue: $1.13 billion vs analyst estimates of $1.20 billion (4.8% year-on-year decline, 6.1% miss)
- Combined Ratio: 106% vs analyst estimates of 99.9% (610 basis point miss)
- Adjusted EPS: $0.25 vs analyst expectations of $0.86 (70.8% miss)
- Book Value per Share: $45.71 vs analyst estimates of $49.43 (4.7% year-on-year growth, 7.5% miss)
- Market Capitalization: $2.23 billion
“We are focused on taking deliberate actions to address the specific factors affecting our recent performance,” said C. Thomas Evans, Jr., Interim CEO.
Company Overview
Originally known as Unitrin until rebranding in 2011, Kemper (NYSE: KMPR) is an insurance holding company that provides automobile, homeowners, life, and other insurance products to individuals and businesses across the United States.
Revenue Growth
Insurance companies generate revenue three ways. The first is the core insurance business itself, represented in the income statement as premiums earned. The second source is investment income from investing the “float” (premiums collected but not yet paid out as claims) in assets such as fixed-income assets and equities. The third is fees from policy administration, annuities, and other value-added services. Kemper struggled to consistently generate demand over the last five years as its revenue dropped at a 1.3% annual rate. This wasn’t a great result and is a sign of poor business quality.
We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within financials, a half-decade historical view may miss recent interest rate changes, market returns, and industry trends. Kemper’s annualized revenue declines of 1.7% over the last two years align with its five-year trend, suggesting its demand has consistently shrunk. 
Note: Quarters not shown were determined to be outliers, impacted by outsized investment gains/losses that are not indicative of the recurring fundamentals of the business.
This quarter, Kemper missed Wall Street’s estimates and reported a rather uninspiring 4.8% year-on-year revenue decline, generating $1.13 billion of revenue.
Net premiums earned made up 92% of the company’s total revenue during the last five years, meaning Kemper lives and dies by its underwriting activities because non-insurance operations barely move the needle.
Net premiums earned commands greater market attention due to its reliability and consistency, whereas investment and fee income are often seen as more volatile revenue streams that fluctuate with market conditions.
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Book Value Per Share (BVPS)
Insurance companies are balance sheet businesses, collecting premiums upfront and paying out claims over time. The float–premiums collected but not yet paid out–are invested, creating an asset base supported by a liability structure. Book value per share (BVPS) captures this dynamic by measuring these assets (investment portfolio, cash, reinsurance recoverables) less liabilities (claim reserves, debt, future policy benefits). BVPS is essentially the residual value for shareholders.
We therefore consider BVPS very important to track for insurers and a metric that sheds light on business quality. While other (and more commonly known) per-share metrics like EPS can sometimes be lumpy due to reserve releases or one-time items and can be managed or skewed while still following accounting rules, BVPS reflects long-term capital growth and is harder to manipulate.
Kemper’s BVPS declined at a 8.1% annual clip over the last five years. However, BVPS growth has accelerated recently, growing by 8.2% annually over the last two years from $39.08 to $45.71 per share.
Over the next 12 months, Consensus estimates call for Kemper’s BVPS to grow by 15.7% to $49.43, top-notch growth rate.
Key Takeaways from Kemper’s Q4 Results
We struggled to find many positives in these results. Its revenue missed and its net premiums earned fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this was a softer quarter. The stock traded down 4.8% to $36.65 immediately following the results.
Kemper underperformed this quarter, but does that create an opportunity to invest right now? When making that decision, it’s important to consider its valuation, business qualities, as well as what has happened in the latest quarter. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
