Aon Posts 6% Organic Growth and 10% Adjusted EPS Gain Ahead of USI Close

Aon grew organic revenue 6% in the third quarter and lifted adjusted earnings per share 10%, as the insurance broker heads into the expected fourth-quarter close of its USI acquisition.

Adjusted EPS rose to $3.36 from $3.05 a year earlier, while diluted EPS increased 6% to $2.23 from $2.11, according to the earnings release Aon filed with an 8-K on Wednesday. Total revenue rose 3% to $4.101 billion, held back by a 3% drag mainly from divestitures, including the sales of the NFP Wealth business and Stroz Friedberg.

Broad-based growth

Organic growth came from every solution line. Commercial Risk Solutions and Reinsurance Solutions each grew 7% organically, Health Solutions 6% and Wealth Solutions 4%.

In Commercial Risk, the largest unit at $2.110 billion of revenue, Aon cited strong growth in North America and EMEA, with M&A services and U.S. core property and casualty standing out. Reinsurance benefited from treaty placements as well as the reversal of a constraint previously applied against prior-period revenue.

Reported Wealth Solutions revenue fell 21% to $429 million, reflecting the NFP Wealth sale.

"We enter the fourth quarter with significant momentum, reinforcing confidence in our ongoing ability to deliver sustained, differentiated performance," President and CEO Greg Case said in the release.

Margins widen, restructuring costs rise

Adjusted operating margin improved 70 basis points to 27.0%, and adjusted operating income rose 5% to $1.106 billion. On a GAAP basis, operating income slipped 1% to $809 million and operating margin narrowed 70 basis points to 19.7%.

The gap reflects heavier spending on the company's Accelerating Aon United restructuring program, whose expense nearly tripled to $93 million from $32 million, mostly for workforce optimization. Other general expense also rose 8%, partly because of USI-related transaction costs.

Net income attributable to Aon shareholders increased 4% to $476 million.

USI deal and capital priorities

Aon said it expects the USI acquisition to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. After closing, it plans to prioritize paying down debt, aiming to bring leverage back to its 2.8x to 3.0x objective in about 24 months.

The company did not repurchase any shares in the quarter and had about $7.7 billion left under its buyback authorization as of Sept. 30. Interest income rose $24 million, which Aon attributed mainly to higher cash balances from debt raised near the end of the quarter to fund the USI deal.

Cash flow and currency

Cash from operations for the first nine months rose 4% to $2.2 billion, and free cash flow rose 3% to $1.9 billion. Aon said that if exchange rates hold at current levels, currency would add about $0.42 a share to full-year 2026 adjusted EPS, with a de minimis effect in the fourth quarter.

Aon scheduled a conference call for 8:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday.

Sources

1. Aon Form 8-K with third-quarter 2026 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1), filed Oct. 28, 2026 (accession 0001628280-26-067714)

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