AXA Earnings: Slight Miss on Earnings, but Good Dividend and Share Buyback Announced

AXA has reported underlying earnings of EUR 7.604 billion for 2023, slightly below the EUR 7.628 billion that we forecast. That equates to underlying earnings of EUR 3.31 per share, slightly better than the EUR 3.24 that we forecast. The delivery of underlying earnings and EPS were both below company-compiled consensus, which estimated EUR 7.691 billion and EUR 3.38 per share respectively. The board has announced the proposal of a dividend at EUR 1.98 per share, above our and consensus estimates, and is also proposing the launch of a share buyback up to EUR 1.6 billion. This reflects the new distribution policy of a 75% payout ratio, comprising a 60% dividend and 15% share buyback.