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# American Financial Group Declares $3.50 Special Dividend After Third-Quarter Core Earnings Hit $3.97 A Share
- URL: https://www.bullished.co/american-financial-group-declares-3-50-special-dividend-after-third-quarter-core-earnings-c4474534/
- Published: 2026-11-04T13:23:14.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T13:23:14.000Z
- Description: A $126 million gain on a resort sale lifted core earnings per share 48%, and the insurer will pay about $290 million to shareholders.
- Author: Matteo Parrino
- Tags: Earnings, AFG, Industry: Financials

American Financial Group, the Cincinnati insurance holding company that sells specialized commercial property and casualty coverage, [declared a $3.50 per share special dividend](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001042046/000119312526446243/d190021d8k.htm?ref=bullished.co) after core earnings of $3.97 a share in the third quarter, up 48% from $2.69 a year earlier. Management called it the company's highest ever for a third quarter, and an August property sale supplied a large part of the gain.

## Earnings and the resort sale

Net earnings were [$282 million, or $3.40 per share](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001042046/000119312526446243/d190021dex991.htm?ref=bullished.co), against $215 million, or $2.58, in the third quarter of 2025\. Core net operating earnings, which exclude investment gains and losses and special charges, were $329 million versus $224 million. Annualized core return on equity was 26.0%, compared with 19.0% a year earlier.

The August sale of Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina produced $126 million of pretax net investment income. The property-casualty units and the parent company each owned half, so the gain is split between them. The sale added $1.21 per share to core earnings.

Excluding the sale, property-casualty net investment income rose 10%. Including it, that income rose 41% to $289 million.

## Underwriting: growth, thinner margin

Net written premiums grew 9% and gross written premiums 8%. Average renewal pricing excluding workers' compensation rose about 6%, roughly a point above the second quarter.

The specialty combined ratio, an underwriting measure where lower is better, was 93.8% against 93.0% a year earlier. Specialty underwriting profit was $133 million versus $139 million, as a large loss in European operations in the Specialty Financial group and less favorable reserve development more than offset gains elsewhere. That group's combined ratio was 92.5%, against 81.1%.

## Charges, losses and the payout

Results include a special charge of $24 million pretax ($19 million after tax) to raise environmental reserves at former railroad and manufacturing operations, which the company attributed mainly to higher expected investigation and remediation costs at a limited number of sites. Realized investment losses cut net earnings by $28 million after tax.

The special dividend totals about $290 million and is payable November 25 to holders of record on November 16\. It comes on top of the regular $0.97 quarterly dividend paid October 23, and brings special dividends declared since the start of 2021 to $59.00 per share.

Co-CEOs S. Craig Lindner and Carl H. Lindner III said the company had "significant excess capital" at September 30\. Book value per share excluding unrealized investment gains and losses was $62.29, versus $57.12 including them.

Management discusses the quarter on a conference call at 11:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday.

Learn

- [Item 2.02: results of operations →](https://www.bullished.co/learn/8-k-items-explained/#item-202-results-of-operations)  
From 8-K Items Explained: What Every Item Code From 1.01 To 9.01 Tells You, With Examples

### Sources

- [8-K Filing — AMERICAN FINANCIAL GROUP INC (AFG)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001042046/000119312526446243/d190021d8k.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR
- [Exhibit d190021dex991.htm — AMERICAN FINANCIAL GROUP INC 8-K exhibit](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001042046/000119312526446243/d190021dex991.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR
- [Exhibit d190021dex992.htm — AMERICAN FINANCIAL GROUP INC 8-K exhibit](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001042046/000119312526446243/d190021dex992.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR