Radian's Third-Quarter Adjusted Operating EPS Rises 25% to $1.44 as the Inigo Acquisition Doubles Revenue to $624 Million, While Mortgage Delinquencies Edge Up to 2.68% and Buybacks Reach $379 Million This Year

Radian Group Inc. announced its third-quarter 2026 financial results on November 4, 2026, with a conference call on November 5. Radian is best known as a private mortgage insurer, which covers lenders against losses when borrowers who put down small deposits stop paying. This quarter's report is different from earlier ones because it includes a specialty insurance business following the company's acquisition of Inigo. This article reports figures from the company's press release and notes where a number has been calculated here rather than reported.

Earnings: headline and adjusted

Net income from continuing operations was $172 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, against $153 million, or $1.11, in the third quarter of 2025. That is an increase of about 12% calculated here. Total net income, which includes discontinued operations, was $164 million, or $1.22 per share, against $141 million, or $1.03. Pretax income from continuing operations was $228 million against $199 million.

On the adjusted basis the company uses to describe operations, adjusted pretax operating income was $254 million against $206 million, and adjusted diluted net operating income per share was $1.44 against $1.15, a rise of about 25% calculated here. Return on equity was 14.6% against 13.4%, and adjusted net operating return on equity was 16.3% against 13.9%. Adjusted measures are defined by the company and exclude certain items, so they should not be compared directly with other insurers' figures without checking the definitions.

Why revenue doubled

Total revenues were $624 million, compared with $303 million in the third quarter of 2025. The press release links the change to the Inigo acquisition, so the comparison is not like for like: the current quarter contains a business that was not in the prior-year figures. Readers who want to judge the underlying growth of the mortgage insurance franchise should look at the mortgage metrics below rather than at the revenue total.

The mortgage book

New insurance written, a measure of new business, was $14.7 billion in the quarter against $15.5 billion a year earlier, a decline of about 5% calculated here. Primary insurance in force, the total balance of loans covered, was $285.7 billion against $280.6 billion, a rise of about 2%. Persistency, the share of insurance that remains in force, was 83% against 84%.

The delinquency rate rose to 2.68% from 2.42%. That is still a small share of insured loans, but it is higher than a year ago, and it sits alongside the higher loss provision described below. The mortgage loss provision, the amount set aside for expected claims, was $176.9 million against $17.9 million. Within the mortgage segment, the company reported about $32 million of provision including $26 million of favorable development on prior periods, meaning that earlier estimates of loss were reduced. The Specialty segment accounted for about $148 million of the provision. These two components sum to slightly more than the $176.9 million total, and the release does not explain the difference in the figures cited here, so readers should consult the full tables for the reconciliation.

Combined ratios

The Mortgage combined ratio, which compares losses and expenses with premiums earned, was 36.6% against 27.0% a year earlier. A lower number is better, so the ratio worsened by about 9.6 points, calculated here, but it remains far below 100%, the level at which an insurer breaks even on underwriting. The Specialty combined ratio was 80.4%. There is no prior-year comparison for Specialty because the business was not part of Radian a year ago.

Capital: PMIERs

Private mortgage insurers must hold assets under the Private Mortgage Insurer Eligibility Requirements, known as PMIERs, to remain approved by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Radian reported available assets of $5.33 billion, against $5.96 billion a year earlier, and excess available assets above the requirement of $1.48 billion against $1.88 billion. The excess therefore fell by about $400 million, or roughly 21%, calculated here. The release does not say how much of that change came from the acquisition, from buybacks or from changes in the requirement, so this article does not attribute it.

Share repurchases and dividend

Radian repurchased $135 million of stock in the third quarter, or 3.7 million shares, and a further $117 million in October, or 3.5 million shares. For the year to date, repurchases were $379 million, about 8% of shares outstanding, and $484 million of authorization remained, expiring in December 2027. The quarterly dividend was $0.255 per share, or about $34 million. Together, the quarter's repurchases and dividend returned about $169 million to shareholders, calculated here.

Book value and accumulated losses

Book value per share was $35.78 against $34.34, an increase of 4.2%. Accumulated other comprehensive income was a loss of $3.32 per share against a loss of $1.67, which means unrealized losses on investments reduced book value by more than they did a year earlier. The release does not separate the causes.

What the release does not say

The release does not give guidance for the fourth quarter, does not break out the contribution of Inigo to adjusted income, and does not explain the reasons for the rise in delinquencies. This article therefore does not forecast or explain them.

What to watch

Three things stand out. The first is whether the delinquency rate continues to rise from 2.68%, since it feeds directly into future loss provisions. The second is how the PMIERs excess moves as the company continues to buy back shares. The third is how the Specialty segment contributes once a full year of comparison is available. This article is a summary of public figures and is not investment advice.