At a glance
American Financial Group Inc is worth $12.46B, about 15 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue fell 1.8% to $8.17B in fiscal 2025, with 10.3% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 7.2% a year. It pays a 4.98% dividend yield, and returned $6.31B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +21.4% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +9.8% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 58.2% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 16.2% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 11 months and 1 month after the lows.
The business in plain English
American Financial Group is an insurance holding company based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through Great American Insurance Group, it sells specialized property and casualty insurance to businesses. As of December 31, 2025, the group had 36 insurance businesses. Each one makes its own underwriting and claims decisions. Investments and administration are run centrally. U.S. subsidiaries wrote about 98% of direct premiums in 2025.
The business has three sub-segments. Property and Transportation includes federally reinsured crop insurance, truck and bus coverage, and marine policies. Specialty Casualty covers hard-to-place risks, directors' and officers' liability, general liability and workers' compensation. Specialty Financial includes fidelity and surety bonds, lender programs and trade credit insurance. Great American Insurance is the largest underwriting company. Management says over 55% of 2025 specialty premiums came from businesses ranked in the top 10 of their markets.
AFG makes money in two ways. First, it aims to collect more in premiums than it pays out in claims and expenses. The combined ratio tracks this. It shows claims and costs as a share of premiums, and a figure under 100% means an underwriting profit. The ratio was 91.0% in 2025. Under regulatory accounting, it averaged 90.5% from 2016 to 2025, against 98.1% for the commercial insurance industry. Second, it invests premiums until claims are paid. Revenue was about $8.2 billion in fiscal 2025.
Price history
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AFG +21.4% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $2.03B, up 5.5% from a year earlier, and net income was $248.0M (+42.5%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $8.17B (-1.8% year over year; +7.2% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 10.3% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +7.2% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 13.1% watch |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 17.5% good |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 2.6% weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $5.77B | $732.0M | — |
| FY2021 | $6.55B | $2.00B | — |
| FY2022 | $7.04B | $898.0M | — |
| FY2023 | $7.83B | $852.0M | — |
| FY2024 | $8.32B | $887.0M | — |
| FY2025 | $8.17B | $842.0M | — |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $12.46B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 14.9 |
| Dividend yield | 4.98% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
American Financial Group’s market value went from $7.65B at the end of 2016 to $12.46B on Oct 28, 2026, up 63%; since the end of 2025 it is up 9%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $12.46B | +9.3% |
| 2025 | $11.40B | -0.8% |
| 2024 | $11.49B | +15.4% |
| 2023 | $9.96B | -14.8% |
| 2022 | $11.69B | +0.4% |
| 2021 | $11.65B | +53.0% |
| 2020 | $7.61B | -23.0% |
| 2019 | $9.89B | +22.4% |
| 2018 | $8.08B | -15.5% |
| 2017 | $9.56B | +25.0% |
| 2016 | $7.65B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFG price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +14.5% | +21.4% | +18.8% | +9.8% | +15.7% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +14.5% |
| 2025 | +5.5% |
| 2024 | +23.7% |
| 2023 | -7.6% |
| 2022 | +11.0% |
| 2021 | +94.8% |
| 2020 | -16.2% |
| 2019 | +27.1% |
| 2018 | -13.1% |
| 2017 | +29.2% |
| 2016 | +25.8% |
| 2015 | +22.3% |
| 2014 | +8.7% |
| 2013 | +51.2% |
| 2012 | +9.9% |
| 2011 | +16.5% |
| 2010 | +32.1% |
| 2009 | +11.7% |
| 2008 | -19.0% |
| 2007 | -18.6% |
| 2006 | +41.8% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 55.4% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 58.7%, back to its old high 18.7 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 56.5% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 58.2%, back to its old high 10.8 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Gained 0.5% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 16.2%, back to its old high 1.1 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 8 sales ($15.8M).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 26, 2026 | Carl H Iii Lindner Co-CEO, Director | sell | $11.7M |
| Jun 23, 2026 | David Lawrence Jr Thompson President of Subsidiary, Director | sell | $1.5M |
| Aug 24, 2026 | Carl H Iii Lindner Co-CEO, Director | sell | $1.2M |
| Aug 6, 2026 | Mark A Weiss Sr. VP & General Counsel | sell | $407K |
| Jun 24, 2026 | Michelle A Gillis Senior Vice President | sell | $312K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 8.5% | Sep 30, 2025 |
| FMR LLC | 6.5% | Jun 30, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in AFG
| KBWP Invesco KBW Property & Casualty Insurance ETF | 4.05% |
| SMIG Bahl & Gaynor Small/Mid Cap Income Growth ETF | 2.39% |
| SOVF Sovereign's Capital Flourish Fund | 2.28% |
| FDIV MarketDesk Focused U.S. Dividend ETF | 2.1% |
| LYLD Cambria Large Cap Shareholder Yield ETF | 2.1% |
| KIE SPDR S&P Insurance ETF | 1.93% |
| DON WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Dividend Fund | 1.04% |
| VSDA VictoryShares Dividend Accelerator ETF | 1.03% |
What could go wrong
- Crop results swing with weather and prices. AFG sells federally reinsured crop insurance. Droughts, floods, pests, plant disease and falling prices for major crops can cause large swings in results from one year to the next.
- Catastrophes could exceed reinsurance protection. Natural disasters and other catastrophes cost AFG $137 million, after reinsurance, in 2025. A severe event or a series of them could exceed its protection. Shifting weather patterns make losses harder to price.
- Claim reserves could prove too low. Insurers set aside money for claims not yet reported or settled, using estimates and models. If AFG's estimates prove too low, it would have to add to reserves, which cuts earnings.
- Mass torts and new legal claims. Mass torts are lawsuits from many people over the same harm. These, or court rulings that widen what policies cover, could bring claims much larger than AFG expected when it priced policies.
- Heavy reliance on reinsurers. AFG passes a large share of its premiums to reinsurers, which take on part of its risk. If that cover becomes costly or scarce, or a reinsurer fails to pay, AFG keeps more losses.
- Investment portfolio exposed to rates and markets. AFG invests the premiums it holds before paying claims. Changes in interest rates, market declines and hard-to-sell alternative investments could reduce investment income, the portfolio's value and the company's ability to raise cash.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Executive or board change
- Quarterly results released; Other company announcement
- Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released; Other company announcement
For income and retirement investors
AFG pays a dividend, but the total per share has not risen every year. It grew from $3.85 in 2020 to $7.28 in 2025, about 13.6% a year, but the path was uneven: $28.06 in 2021, $14.31 in 2022, then $8.10, $9.43 and $7.28. The 2025 payout equaled 72% of earnings, and the yield was 4.98% as of October 28, 2026. From 2021 through 2025, AFG paid $5.7 billion in dividends and spent $642 million on buybacks. The share count fell 2.2% between November 2021 and August 2026.
The stock has fallen hard in crises. It dropped 58.7% in the 2008 financial crisis and took about 19 months from the low to recover. It fell 58.2% in the 2020 COVID crash and recovered in about 11 months. In the 2022 bear market it held up better, falling at most 16.2% and recovering in about a month. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does American Financial Group make money?
Mainly by selling specialized commercial property and casualty insurance and investing the premiums. Through Great American Insurance Group, AFG insures businesses such as trucking firms, farms, contractors and nonprofits. In 2025 it earned $7.0 billion of net premiums and kept $629 million as underwriting profit after claims and expenses. It also earns income from an investment portfolio run by an in-house team. Total revenue was $8.2 billion and net income $842 million for 2025.
Does American Financial Group raise its dividend every year?
Not on a total basis. AFG's dividends per share have moved up and down: $28.06 in 2021, $14.31 in 2022, $8.10 in 2023, $9.43 in 2024 and $7.28 in 2025. From $3.85 in 2020, the total still grew about 13.6% a year through 2025. The 2025 dividends equaled 72% of earnings. As a holding company, AFG depends on its insurance subsidiaries to fund them. The yield was 4.98% as of October 28, 2026.
What is American Financial Group's combined ratio?
It was 91.0% in 2025 under standard US accounting (GAAP), versus 91.2% in 2024. The combined ratio adds claims and expenses as a share of premiums. Under 100% means an underwriting profit, which came to $629 million in 2025. On the statutory basis regulators use, AFG averaged 90.5% from 2016 to 2025, versus 98.1% for the commercial lines industry, per A.M. Best figures. Management says it will limit growth rather than write business it doesn't expect to be profitable.
What is American Financial Group's P/E ratio?
About 14.9 times 2025 earnings, as of October 28, 2026. The P/E (price-to-earnings ratio) divides the share price by earnings per share, which were $10.08 on a diluted basis for 2025. The company's market value was about $12.5 billion on that date. Insurance profits can swing with catastrophes and investment results. Net income fell 5.1% in 2025 to $842 million. For the quarter ended June 30, 2026, it rose 42.5% from a year earlier to $248 million.
Are American Financial Group insiders selling stock?
Yes. From October 29, 2025, to October 29, 2026, insiders reported at least 8 sales worth about $15.8 million and no purchases. The largest was by Co-CEO and director Carl H. Lindner III, who sold about $11.7 million of stock on August 26, 2026, outside a preset trading plan. Insiders sell for many personal reasons. Among outside holders, BlackRock reported 8.5% as of September 30, 2025, and FMR 6.5% as of June 30, 2026.