Principal Financial Group, Inc.PFG
NasdaqGS•Financial Services•Asset Management
Principal Financial Group, Inc. provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Asset Management, and Benefits and Protection segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement, and related financial products and services. This segment offers products and services for defined contribution plans, including 401(k) and 403(b) plans, defined benefit plans, nonqualified executive benefit plans, employee stock ownership plans, equity compensation, and pension risk transfer services; individual retirement accounts; investment only products; and mutual funds, individual variable annuities, registered index-linked annuities, and bank products, as well as trust and custody services. The Principal Asset Management segment provides equity, fixed income, real estate, and other alternative investments, as well as fund offerings. This segment also offers pension accumulation products and services, mutual funds, asset management, income annuities, and life insurance accumulation products, as well as voluntary savings plans. The Benefits and Protection segment provides specialty benefits, such as specialty benefits group dental and vision insurance, group life and other insurance, and group and individual disability insurance, as well as administers group dental, disability, and vision benefits; and individual life insurance products comprising universal, variable universal, indexed universal, and term life insurance products. This segment serves insurance solutions for small and medium-sized businesses and their owners, as well as employees. The company was founded in 1879 and is based in Des Moines, Iowa.
Principal Financial Group Inc (PFG) reported trailing twelve months revenue of $15.46B as of March 2026, a 2.0% decline year-over-year. Quarterly revenue reached $3.53B, reflecting a contraction in sales.
Principal Financial Group Inc generated $1.55B in TTM net income, with quarterly EBITDA of $522.90M. The operating margin expanded from 0.8% to 14.8%, suggesting improving cost efficiency and pricing discipline.
The spread between operating margin (14.8%) and net margin (11.7%) indicates tight cost control with minimal non-operating drag. Net margin has improved from 1.3% a year ago, signaling stronger bottom-line efficiency.
PFG trades at a P/E of 12.5x (below the broader market average) and a P/S of 1.3x. The price-to-book ratio of 1.6x reflects a moderate premium to book value.
The company generated $153.30M in free cash flow over the trailing twelve months, a 84.0% decrease year-over-year, indicating cash generation ability. The balance sheet shows $332.70B in total assets with $3.93B in long-term debt against $11.82B in stockholders equity for a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.3, a conservative capital structure. Data based on the most recent quarterly reports.
Competitive analysis based on 21 quarters of fundamental data
Operating margins are under pressure, averaging 9.2%. The business may lack pricing power or face rising costs.'
ROE is low or negative, suggesting limited competitive advantage or capital allocation challenges.
8 of the last 8 quarters generated positive FCF. The company generally funds itself but has occasional cash consumption quarters.
Revenue has been flat or declining over recent quarters, which may indicate eroding demand or competitive pressure.
Data-driven red flags and warnings across 21 quarters
The company posted negative operating margins in recent quarters — core operations are unprofitable.
FCF covers net income by 3.8x on average — earnings are well-supported by cash generation.
D/E ratio is 0.3 — conservative capital structure with low financial risk.
Revenue is stable or growing over recent quarters — demand appears durable.
Free cash flow is consistently positive — the business self-funds without external capital reliance.
Shares decreased 6.9% — net buybacks are reducing shares outstanding and boosting per-share value.
Quarterly standardized metrics.
Stock price and market valuation
Revenue and earnings growth across quarters
Assets, cash, debt, and leverage
Price multiples and return ratios
Operating efficiency and return metrics
Free cash flow, earnings quality, and capital allocation