American Financial Group declares $3.50 special dividend after third-quarter earnings beat

Core operating profit of $3.97 a share beat forecasts by $0.38, and the insurer's property and casualty arm booked record pretax operating income.

American Financial Group reported third-quarter core operating earnings of $3.97 a share, $0.38 better than expected. Revenue was $2.58B against $2.09B expected.

The co-chief executives, S. Craig Lindner and Carl H. Lindner III, said strong underwriting margins, healthy premium growth and higher net investment income in property and casualty (P&C) insurance produced record pretax P&C operating income. They put the annualized core operating return on equity at 26%.

Underwriting profit in the P&C business slipped to $133m from $139m. Separately, the sale of Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina contributed $126m of pretax income to core results.

The board declared a one-time cash dividend of $3.50 a share, on top of the regular quarterly payment of $0.97. It follows special dividends of $4.00 a share in 2025 and $1.50 in February 2026, so the payout extends a series of capital returns. Shareholders on the books on November 16 receive it on November 25.