Latest Ratios: P/E Ratio 12.5x · EV/EBITDA 9.7x · ROE 8.9%. (2002–2025 historical series)
Price-based multiples — how expensive the stock is relative to earnings, sales, book value, and cash flow
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | $5.2B | $4.2B | $4.0B | $3.2B | $2.7B | $3.1B | $3.2B | $2.8B | $2.5B | $4.3B | $3.4B |
| Enterprise Value | $8.3B | $7.2B | $6.9B | $6.6B | $6.5B | $7.0B | $7.1B | $6.6B | $6.4B | $8.0B | $7.4B |
| P/E Ratio → | 12.52 | 18.07 | 9.95 | 11.63 | 4.26 | 7.10 | 10.54 | 6.95 | — | 24.21 | 9.53 |
| P/S Ratio | 1.14 | 0.93 | 0.90 | 0.77 | 0.75 | 0.76 | 0.83 | 0.71 | 0.57 | 0.99 | 0.86 |
| P/B Ratio | 2.05 | 1.57 | 1.60 | 1.45 | 1.52 | 0.59 | 0.58 | 0.61 | 0.73 | 0.88 | 0.76 |
| P/FCF | 6.97 | 6.14 | 6.41 | 5.51 | 5.43 | 5.22 | 4.33 | 4.09 | 7.75 | 6.93 | 4.50 |
| P/OCF | 7.66 | 6.14 | 6.41 | 5.51 | 5.43 | 5.22 | 4.33 | 4.09 | 7.75 | 6.93 | 4.50 |
P/E links to full P/E history page with 30-year chart
Enterprise-value multiples — capital-structure-neutral measures of total business value
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EV / Revenue | — | 1.62 | 1.55 | 1.59 | 1.82 | 1.70 | 1.85 | 1.63 | 1.48 | 1.87 | 1.87 |
| EV / EBITDA | 9.69 | 11.84 | 8.49 | 10.55 | 6.11 | 7.25 | 10.89 | 12.10 | 232.82 | 10.78 | 11.86 |
| EV / EBIT | 28.19 | 13.82 | 8.91 | 11.06 | 6.82 | 8.48 | 15.58 | 15.38 | — | 13.31 | 15.86 |
| EV / FCF | — | 10.73 | 10.97 | 11.30 | 13.13 | 11.75 | 9.60 | 9.42 | 20.07 | 13.12 | 9.81 |
Margins and return-on-capital ratios measuring operating efficiency
Full margin charts and quarterly trend are on the Earnings History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 44.8% | 44.8% | 38.3% | 37.0% | 50.1% | 41.2% | 33.6% | 30.7% | 13.5% | 31.2% | 29.1% |
| Operating Margin | 6.5% | 6.5% | 11.7% | 8.6% | 22.8% | 17.8% | 9.0% | 6.8% | -6.1% | 11.2% | 8.8% |
| Net Profit Margin | 5.1% | 5.1% | 9.1% | 6.7% | 17.6% | 13.8% | 7.9% | 10.2% | -7.3% | 4.1% | 9.0% |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROE | 8.9% | 8.9% | 17.1% | 13.9% | 17.9% | 10.6% | 5.9% | 10.2% | -7.7% | 3.8% | 8.3% |
| ROA | 0.6% | 0.6% | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.8% | 1.6% | 0.9% | 1.3% | -1.0% | 0.5% | 1.1% |
| ROIC | 4.0% | 4.0% | 7.1% | 4.8% | 8.3% | 5.9% | 2.9% | 2.6% | -2.5% | 4.2% | 3.2% |
| ROCE | 1.5% | 1.5% | 2.8% | 1.0% | 4.1% | 3.4% | 1.0% | 0.8% | -3.3% | 5.5% | 4.2% |
Solvency and debt-coverage ratios — lower is generally safer
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt / Equity | 1.54 | 1.54 | 1.80 | 1.87 | 2.20 | 0.76 | 0.72 | 0.81 | 1.18 | 0.82 | 0.94 |
| Debt / EBITDA | 6.62 | 6.62 | 5.58 | 6.65 | 3.65 | 4.13 | 6.06 | 6.98 | 145.25 | 5.33 | 6.72 |
| Net Debt / Equity | — | 1.17 | 1.14 | 1.52 | 2.16 | 0.74 | 0.71 | 0.79 | 1.16 | 0.78 | 0.90 |
| Net Debt / EBITDA | 5.06 | 5.06 | 3.53 | 5.41 | 3.58 | 4.02 | 5.98 | 6.85 | 142.97 | 5.09 | 6.42 |
| Debt / FCF | — | 4.58 | 4.56 | 5.79 | 7.70 | 6.52 | 5.27 | 5.33 | 12.33 | 6.19 | 5.31 |
| Interest Coverage | 2.27 | 2.27 | 3.04 | 2.50 | 6.96 | 8.68 | 4.16 | 2.80 | -0.77 | 4.88 | 4.03 |
Short-term solvency ratios and asset-utilisation metrics
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Ratio | 0.71 | 0.71 | 1.68 | — | 1.73 | 2.19 | — | — | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Quick Ratio | 0.71 | 0.71 | 1.68 | — | 1.73 | 2.19 | — | — | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Cash Ratio | 0.46 | 0.46 | 1.39 | — | 1.33 | 1.80 | — | — | 0.77 | 0.95 | 0.91 |
| Asset Turnover | — | 0.12 | 0.12 | 0.12 | 0.11 | 0.11 | 0.11 | 0.12 | 0.14 | 0.13 | 0.12 |
| Inventory Turnover | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Days Sales Outstanding | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Earnings, FCF, buyback, and dividend yields — total returns to shareholders
Full dividend history and growth charts are on the Dividend History page
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend Yield | 1.2% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 2.1% | 2.4% | 2.1% | 2.1% | 2.4% | 2.6% | 1.4% | 1.6% |
| Payout Ratio | 28.9% | 28.9% | 16.8% | 24.6% | 10.3% | 11.5% | 22.2% | 16.4% | — | 33.9% | 15.3% |
| Metric | TTM | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | FY 2017 | FY 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings Yield | 8.0% | 5.5% | 10.1% | 8.6% | 23.5% | 14.1% | 9.5% | 14.4% | — | 4.1% | 10.5% |
| FCF Yield | 14.4% | 16.3% | 15.6% | 18.1% | 18.4% | 19.1% | 23.1% | 24.5% | 12.9% | 14.4% | 22.2% |
| Buyback Yield | 6.4% | 8.0% | 7.5% | 5.2% | 7.1% | 13.0% | 8.4% | 8.9% | 4.4% | 4.0% | 6.1% |
| Total Shareholder Yield | 7.6% | 9.6% | 9.1% | 7.3% | 9.5% | 15.1% | 10.5% | 11.3% | 7.0% | 5.4% | 7.8% |
| Shares Outstanding | — | $98M | $108M | $115M | $118M | $131M | $143M | $157M | $165M | $172M | $178M |
Includes 30+ ratios · 24 years · Updated daily
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Quick answers to the most common questions about buying CNO stock.
CNO Financial Group, Inc.'s current P/E ratio is 12.5x. The historical average is 15.2x. This places it at the 65th percentile of its historical range.
CNO Financial Group, Inc.'s current EV/EBITDA is 9.7x. This enterprise value multiple compares the company's total value (equity + debt - cash) to its EBITDA. The historical average is 8.6x.
CNO Financial Group, Inc.'s return on equity (ROE) is 8.9%. The historical average is 4.7%.
Based on historical data, CNO Financial Group, Inc. is trading at a P/E of 12.5x. This is at the 65th percentile of its historical P/E range. Compare with industry peers and growth rates for a complete picture.
CNO Financial Group, Inc.'s current dividend yield is 1.22% with a payout ratio of 28.9%.
CNO Financial Group, Inc. has 44.8% gross margin and 6.5% operating margin.
CNO Financial Group, Inc.'s Debt/EBITDA ratio is 6.6x, indicating high leverage. A ratio above 4x may signal elevated financial risk.
Key Metrics
Top Statement Risk
Elevated leverage versus returns
Metrics are mathematically derived from official filings.
Trailing Premium Masks Forward Discount
Based on CNO's reported figures, the stock trades at 2.05 times book and 23.60 times trailing earnings, while the 10.29 forward P/E implies sharp expected earnings recovery that the 8.9% ROE does not yet demonstrate.
A price-to-book of 2.05 sits below Globe Life's 2.13 but above Principal's 2.02 only marginally, suggesting the market is paying near-peer book multiples for a franchise earning a substantially lower return on equity. The gap between trailing and forward P/E points to an expected normalization of earnings that investors should monitor closely, since recent quarterly ROE has ranged from 0.4% to 6.6%. The valuation therefore appears to price in a durable margin improvement rather than the current reported profitability.
Combined Ratio Swings Around Breakeven
According to the reported quarterly series, CNO's combined ratio moved between 80.8% in 2024Q4 and 98.2% in 2025Q1, with the most recent reported figure at 87.6% in 2026Q2, leaving underwriting margins highly sensitive to claims timing.
Loss ratios ranging from 51.8% to 69.2% indicate that morbidity and reserve movements, rather than expense discipline alone, drive most of the quarter-to-quarter variance. The expense ratio has been comparatively stable in the high-20s to high-30s, which suggests that the sustainability of underwriting profit depends primarily on loss experience in the health and long-term care books. Investors should treat the sub-90% readings as provisional until they persist across several consecutive quarters.
ROE Reliant on Thin Underwriting Margins
As reported in financial statements, CNO's underwriting margin has ranged from 1.8% to 19.2% over the last ten quarters, and trailing ROE of 8.9% appears to rest heavily on the quarters where margin was highest.
Investment income fields are blank in the supplied data, so the contribution of float yield to ROE cannot be separated from underwriting profit. The pattern of ROE tracking underwriting margin closely suggests that earnings are driven more by claims outcomes than by investment spread. This raises the question of whether the reported ROE is repeatable or reflects favorable reserve experience in specific periods.
Debt Load Stretches Thin Equity Base
Based on CNO's reported figures, the debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54 combined with 8.9% ROE suggests capital is deployed against a comparatively thin equity cushion, with the ratio having risen from 1.55 to 2.07 across the most recent quarters.
Interest coverage has fluctuated between 1.16 and 4.90 times, indicating that debt service capacity is adequate in some quarters but tight in others. Statutory risk-based capital ratios are not included in the provided data, which limits the ability to judge premium-to-surplus or underwriting leverage directly. Investors should verify capital adequacy against statutory filings before drawing firm conclusions.
Discount to Globe Life Justified by ROE Gap
Compared with Globe Life's reported 19.5% ROE and 11.18 P/E, CNO's 8.9% ROE and 23.60 trailing P/E show a meaningful lag in returns, while the 2.05 price-to-book sits close to peers despite the weaker profitability profile.
Globe Life's higher ROE and lower P/E suggest the market rewards its distribution model with more reliable earnings conversion. CNO's near-parity on price-to-book with that lower return profile implies investors may be assigning value to the captive agent platform or legacy book stability that current returns do not yet reflect. Lincoln National and F&G trade at much lower book multiples, which underscores how divided the sector valuation is between growth-oriented and legacy-heavy insurers.
Trailing P/E Misleads on Earnings Quality
The most commonly misapplied metric here is trailing P/E, which at 23.60 times appears expensive but is distorted by volatile net income that swung from $9.3M to $166.1M across recent quarters, making the forward P/E of 10.29 equally unreliable as a guide.
Trailing P/E overstates the cost of earnings when quarterly results are dominated by reserve adjustments and LDTI-driven assumption updates. The forward estimate of 10.29 times rests on consensus expectations that are not verified in the supplied data, since the reported EPS for the latest quarter is unavailable. A more defensible approach would anchor valuation on price-to-book adjusted for normalized ROE through a cycle, which better isolates franchise value from claims timing noise.