Marsh McLennan's revenue rose 8% to $6.9 billion as a legal settlement cut its margin
Revenue rose 8.1% to $6.9 billion and diluted EPS rose 11.9% to $1.69. A $144 million charge for the Greensill settlement cut the operating margin to 17.7%.
Revenue
$6.9B
↑ 8.1% vs Q3 FY2025
Operating margin
17.7%
↓ 0.7 pts vs 18.4%
Net income
$808M
↑ 8.2% vs $747M
Diluted EPS
$1.69
↑ 11.9% vs $1.51
Free cash flow
$1.4B
↓ 30.5% vs $2.0B
Marsh McLennan's revenue grew 8.1% to $6.9 billion in the third quarter of 2026. Costs grew faster, partly because of a $144 million charge to settle claims over its work as insurance broker for Greensill, so the operating margin fell to 17.7% from 18.4%. With a lower tax bill and fewer shares, diluted earnings per share still rose 11.9% to $1.69.
Revenue grew in both segments, helped by acquisitions
Revenue rose by $512 million from the third quarter of 2025. The company said revenue grew 5% on an underlying basis, which leaves out currency moves and acquisitions, and 3% from acquisitions. Part of the increase was an accounting gain rather than fees: revenue includes a $126 million gain from revaluing Marsh McLennan's existing stake in Deasterra Partners, a Spanish insurance broker, when it bought the rest of the company in July.
Risk and Insurance Services, the insurance-broking segment, had revenue of $4.2 billion, up 7%, or 3% on an underlying basis. Reinsurance revenue fell 6% to $374 million. The Consulting segment grew faster: revenue rose 9% to $2.7 billion, and Management Consulting, the former Oliver Wyman, grew 14% to $1.0 billion.
Revenue is seasonal: it is highest in the first quarter and lowest in the third or fourth. For the first nine months of 2026 it rose 7.3% to $21.9 billion.
A settlement charge lowered the operating margin
Operating income rose 3.8% to $1.2 billion, more slowly than revenue. The 10-Q says expenses include the $144 million Greensill charge, net of insurance proceeds, and higher base salaries and incentive pay. The company said these settlements end its part in the Australian Greensill proceedings and that it does not expect further charges for them. Restructuring under its Thrive efficiency program cost $79 million in the quarter, and the company raised its estimate of the program's total cost from $500 million to about $750 million.
The third-quarter margin of 17.7% is the lowest of the twelve quarters covered here. Below operating income, interest expense rose to $248 million from $237 million. Income tax fell 12.6% to $221 million, so net income attributable to the company rose 8.2% to $808 million. The diluted share count fell 3.0% to 479 million, which is why earnings per share grew faster than net income.
Cash flow fell as buybacks doubled
Cash from operations fell 29.0% to $1.5 billion, and free cash flow, after $81 million of capital spending, fell 30.5% to $1.4 billion. For the first nine months, cash from operations was $2.3 billion, down from $3.1 billion. The 10-Q says operating cash flow reflects net income adjusted for non-cash charges and for changes in working capital, mainly the timing of payments such as incentive pay and of receipts of receivables.
Marsh McLennan spent $504 million on share buybacks in the quarter and paid $476 million in dividends. In the first nine months buybacks totaled $2,016 million, 2.0 times the amount a year earlier. With dividends of $1,354 million, payouts to shareholders exceeded the $2,098 million of free cash flow over the same months. At September 30, total debt was $20.5 billion and cash was $1.8 billion.
The company changed its brand name to Marsh in January 2026; its legal name is unchanged. Net income is net income attributable to the company. The diluted share count is not shown for fourth quarters, which have no separate filing.
Sources: Form 10-Q (SEC EDGAR) · Form 10-Q filing index · EDGAR company facts for Marsh McLennan · Marsh McLennan third-quarter 2026 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1). More figures for Marsh McLennan are on its company page.
Twelve quarters of figures
| Quarter | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 | Q2 '26 | Q3 '26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $5.6B | $6.5B | $6.2B | $5.7B | $6.1B | $7.1B | $7.0B | $6.4B | $6.6B | $7.6B | $7.4B | $6.9B |
| Revenue growth | 10.6% | 9.3% | 5.9% | 5.9% | 9.2% | 9.1% | 12.1% | 11.5% | 8.7% | 7.6% | 6.2% | 8.1% |
| Operating margin | 19.9% | 29.7% | 26.4% | 19.5% | 18.8% | 28.4% | 26.2% | 18.4% | 18.5% | 23.1% | 25.7% | 17.7% |
| Net income | $756M | $1.4B | $1.1B | $747M | $788M | $1.4B | $1.2B | $747M | $821M | $1.1B | $1.3B | $808M |
| Diluted EPS | $1.52 | $2.82 | $2.27 | $1.51 | $1.59 | $2.79 | $2.45 | $1.51 | $1.68 | $2.36 | $2.63 | $1.69 |
| Cash from operations | $1.8B | −$781M | $1.2B | $1.9B | $2.0B | −$622M | $1.7B | $2.1B | $2.2B | −$688M | $1.5B | $1.5B |
| Capital expenditure | $120M | $87.0M | $80.0M | $73.0M | $76.0M | $55.0M | $59.0M | $72.0M | $105M | $62.0M | $72.0M | $81.0M |
| Free cash flow | $1.7B | −$868M | $1.1B | $1.8B | $1.9B | −$677M | $1.6B | $2.0B | $2.1B | −$750M | $1.5B | $1.4B |
| Dividends and buybacks | $604M | $654M | $652M | $704M | $403M | $705M | $705M | $847M | $1.5B | $1.2B | $1.2B | $980M |
This story describes figures the company has published. It is for information only and is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security. Check the original filings before relying on any figure. Stoqly is not affiliated with the SEC or Marsh McLennan.
