Essent Group Q2 Earnings: Net Income Dips as Loss Provisions Nearly Triple
ESNT sits 18% above its 52-week low of $55.34.
Summary
Essent Group reported Q2 2026 net income of $189.7 million ($2.08/share) as loss provisions nearly tripled to $49 million, while new insurance written jumped to $14.1 billion and the company continued heavy share buybacks.
Key Events · Earnings and Guidance · ESNT
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Loss Provisions Nearly Triple
Provision for losses and LAE rose to $49 million in Q2 2026 from $17 million in Q2 2025, driven by higher default activity and reserve strengthening.
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Net Income Edges Lower
Net income of $189.7 million ($2.08 diluted EPS) compared to $195.3 million ($1.93 diluted EPS) a year ago, as higher premiums and investment income were offset by the loss provision spike.
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New Insurance Written Surges
Mortgage new insurance written reached $14.1 billion, up from $11.1 billion in Q1 2026 and $12.5 billion in Q2 2025, reflecting strong housing market activity.
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Aggressive Capital Return Continues
Year-to-date through July 31, 2026, Essent repurchased 5.8 million shares for $348 million, and declared a $0.35 quarterly dividend payable September 10.
Analysis · ESNT · Finance
Essent's Q2 net income fell slightly year-over-year to $189.7 million, but the real story is the sharp rise in credit costs — loss provisions nearly tripled to $49 million from $17 million a year ago, signaling growing stress in its insured mortgage portfolio. The company continues to return capital aggressively, repurchasing $348 million in shares year-to-date and declaring a $0.35 quarterly dividend, supported by a strong capital position and PMIERs sufficiency ratio of 172%. New insurance written surged to $14.1 billion, reflecting robust origination activity, but investors will weigh that growth against the deteriorating credit trend.
How filings like this one have moved
In the 30 days to Oct 2, 2026, 29.5% of the 1629 measured filings Wiseek scored 7 moved their stock by 5% or more by the next session's close. The median move was -0.59%. These are measured outcomes after filings of this importance, not a forecast for this one.
Measured one observation per ticker per day, after exclusions. Current figures: Filing Impact Tracker · open dataset
At the time of this filing, ESNT was trading at $65.21 on NYSE in the Finance sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $6B. The 52-week trading range was $55.34 to $68.62. This filing was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10.