At a glance
Lincoln National Corporation is worth $7.78B, about 7 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue fell 1.2% to $18.21B in fiscal 2025, with 6.5% kept as profit; over 4 years it has grown 0.7% a year. It pays a 4.43% dividend yield, and returned $3.22B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +6.1% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −6.3% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 72.0% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 40.4% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%).
The business in plain English
Lincoln National Corporation, which does business as Lincoln Financial, is a holding company based in Radnor, Pennsylvania. Its insurance subsidiaries sell annuities (contracts that can pay income for life), life insurance, group coverage offered through employers, and retirement plan services. Revenue was $18.2 billion in fiscal 2025. Group Protection brought in 33.5%, Life Insurance 32.4%, Annuities 26.7% and Retirement Plan Services 7.3%.
An important source of profit is the spread. Lincoln invests customer premiums and deposits in its general account, a large pool of bonds, mortgage loans and other assets. It aims to earn more than the interest it credits to customers. With variable annuities, customers pick the investment funds and bear the market risk, while Lincoln charges fees on their balances to cover insurance and administrative costs. Many contracts add optional guarantees, such as protected lifetime income or a minimum death benefit, which Lincoln hedges. Fixed indexed annuities credit interest linked to indexes such as the S&P 500, but never less than zero.
Lincoln sold its wealth management business in 2024. Its wholesale arm, Lincoln Financial Distributors, had about 450 wholesalers as of December 31, 2025. They market Lincoln's products to brokers, financial advisers, financial institutions and other intermediaries, who sell to customers. Group Protection sells mainly through employee benefit brokers and third-party administrators.
Price history
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LNC +6.1% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By business segment
| Group Protection | $6.10B | 33.5% |
| Life Insurance | $5.90B | 32.4% |
| Annuities | $4.86B | 26.7% |
| Retirement Plan Services | $1.33B | 7.3% |
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $4.54B, up 12.3% from a year earlier, and net income was $1.33B (+90.6%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $18.21B (-1.2% year over year; +0.7% a year from FY2021 to FY2025) with a 6.5% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2021–FY2025) | +0.7% watch |
|---|---|
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 10.8% watch |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 0.3% weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $17.44B | $499.0M | — |
| FY2021 | $17.71B | $3.78B | — |
| FY2022 | $18.81B | $1.36B | — |
| FY2023 | $11.64B | $-752.0M | — |
| FY2024 | $18.44B | $3.27B | — |
| FY2025 | $18.21B | $1.18B | — |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $7.78B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 7 |
| Dividend yield | 4.43% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Lincoln National’s market value went from $15.15B at the end of 2016 to $7.78B on Oct 28, 2026, down 49%; since the end of 2025 it is down 8%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $7.78B | -8.0% |
| 2025 | $8.46B | +56.6% |
| 2024 | $5.40B | +18.0% |
| 2023 | $4.58B | -12.0% |
| 2022 | $5.20B | -57.9% |
| 2021 | $12.34B | +26.9% |
| 2020 | $9.72B | -16.9% |
| 2019 | $11.70B | +6.8% |
| 2018 | $10.96B | -34.8% |
| 2017 | $16.82B | +11.1% |
| 2016 | $15.15B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LNC price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -4.4% | +6.1% | +30.8% | -6.3% | +2.2% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -4.4% |
| 2025 | +48.3% |
| 2024 | +24.8% |
| 2023 | -3.8% |
| 2022 | -53.5% |
| 2021 | +39.4% |
| 2020 | -11.1% |
| 2019 | +17.9% |
| 2018 | -32.0% |
| 2017 | +17.9% |
| 2016 | +35.0% |
| 2015 | -11.6% |
| 2014 | +13.1% |
| 2013 | +102.2% |
| 2012 | +35.3% |
| 2011 | -29.6% |
| 2010 | +11.9% |
| 2009 | +33.7% |
| 2008 | -66.3% |
| 2007 | -10.2% |
| 2006 | +28.6% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 92.4% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 92.4%, back to its old high 92.1 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 71.5% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 72%, back to its old high 11.2 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 32.4% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 40.4%, not recovered by the end of the data |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-29 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 4 sales ($2.8M).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 5, 2026 | CraigT T Beazer EVP & General Counsel | sell | $1.0M |
| Jun 1, 2026 | Sean Woodroffe EVP, Ch Ppl Comms Ent Srvc Off | sell | $869K |
| Aug 17, 2026 | Sean Woodroffe EVP, Ch Ppl Comms Ent Srvc Off | sell | $498K |
| Aug 12, 2026 | Gary C Kelly Director | sell | $398K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 5.5% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 5.04% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| BlackRock, Inc. | 4% | Sep 30, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in LNC
| MVPA Miller Value Partners Appreciation ETF | 3.87% |
| PSCF Invesco S&P SmallCap Financials ETF | 1.73% |
| RWJ Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Revenue ETF | 1.55% |
| RZV Invesco S&P SmallCap 600® Pure Value ETF | 1.53% |
| XSVM Invesco S&P SmallCap Value with Momentum ETF | 1.51% |
| KBWD Invesco KBW High Dividend Yield Financial ETF | 1.13% |
| VIOV Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF | 1.02% |
| SLYV SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Value ETF | 0.96% |
What could go wrong
- Market swings raise the cost of guarantees. Many variable annuities promise minimum income or death benefits. Falling stocks, lower interest rates or higher volatility make those promises costlier, and Lincoln's hedges may not fully offset the swings in earnings or capital.
- Interest rates can hurt in both directions. Fixed annuities and universal life policies carry minimum guaranteed rates, so low rates shrink Lincoln's spread. High rates can cut the value of its investment portfolio and push customers to surrender policies for cash.
- Reserves for future claims could prove too small. Reserves are money set aside for future policy claims, based on assumptions about deaths, policy lapses and markets. If those assumptions change, Lincoln may have to add to reserves, which reduces earnings.
- A ratings downgrade could ripple through the business. If its insurers' capital weakens, ratings could fall. A downgrade could make products harder to sell, prompt more surrenders and, for some reinsured blocks of business, force Lincoln to post collateral or return the business.
- The parent depends on subsidiary dividends. LNC is a holding company with no operations of its own. To pay its debts and shareholder dividends, it needs cash sent up from its insurance subsidiaries. A shortfall there would strain the parent.
- Higher death rates and reinsurance risks. Worse-than-expected death rates, including from pandemics, raise claims and can make reinsurance (insurance that insurers buy) costlier or harder to get. Reinsurers may also fail to pay what they owe.
Recent events
- Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Other company announcement
- Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Executive or board change
- Major agreement signed
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
For income and retirement investors
Lincoln pays a dividend, but it has stopped growing. Dividends per share rose from $1.62 in fiscal 2020 to $1.80 in fiscal 2022 and stayed there through fiscal 2025, so there is no streak of increases. Dividends paid equaled about 28% of fiscal 2025 net income, and Lincoln kept paying through a $752 million net loss in 2023. The dividend yield (annual dividend divided by share price) was 4.43% as of October 28, 2026. Share buybacks totaled about $1.66 billion over fiscal 2021–2025, with none in 2023 or 2024.
The stock has fallen hard in downturns. It lost about 92% in the 2008 financial crisis and took until November 2016 to recover. It fell about 72% in the 2020 COVID crash, recovering by February 2021. In the 2022 bear market it dropped about 40% and had not regained its February 2022 high as of October 28, 2026. A single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Lincoln Financial make money?
Lincoln makes money by selling insurance and retirement products and investing the premiums and deposits it collects. It earns a spread between its investment returns and the interest it credits customers, plus fees on variable annuity balances. In fiscal 2025, revenue was $18.2 billion. Group Protection supplied 33.5%, Life Insurance 32.4%, Annuities 26.7% and Retirement Plan Services 7.3%. It sells through brokers, financial advisers and other intermediaries rather than a captive sales force.
Does Lincoln National raise its dividend every year?
No. Lincoln paid $1.80 per share in dividends in each fiscal year from 2022 through 2025, so it has no streak of annual increases. Before that, the dividend rose from $1.62 in fiscal 2020 to $1.71 in fiscal 2021. Over fiscal 2020–2025, growth averaged about 2.1% a year. The dividend yield was 4.43% as of October 28, 2026, and dividends paid equaled about 28% of fiscal 2025 net income.
Why does Lincoln National's profit swing so much?
Because much of its business is sensitive to stock markets and interest rates. Net income was $3.8 billion in fiscal 2021, $1.4 billion in 2022, a $752 million loss in 2023, $3.3 billion in 2024 and $1.2 billion in 2025. Lincoln's 10-K explains that guarantees on its annuities change in value as markets, rates and volatility (how sharply prices swing) move. Its hedges may not fully offset those changes, which can make results under standard accounting rules (GAAP) volatile.
Is Lincoln Financial the same company as Lincoln National?
Yes. Lincoln Financial is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation, which trades on the NYSE as LNC, and its subsidiaries. The holding company was organized in Indiana in 1968 and has its principal offices in Radnor, Pennsylvania. It reports four segments: Annuities, Life Insurance, Group Protection and Retirement Plan Services. It sold its wealth management business in 2024, and its wholesale arm, Lincoln Financial Distributors, had about 450 wholesalers as of December 31, 2025.
How has LNC stock performed?
Unevenly, with big swings. As of October 28, 2026, the share price was up 6.1% over one year and about 124% over three years, but down about 28% over five years. Calendar years vary widely: the price fell 53.5% in 2022 and rose 48.3% in 2025. On that date the stock traded at about 7 times fiscal 2025 earnings. A low price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio often signals that investors see more risk.