Verisk’s Annual Profit Forecast Falls Short Amid Spending Uncertainty *Centurion Insurance AFS*

Verisk Analytics forecast 2024 adjusted profit below market estimates last Wednesday, as the broader data and analytics industry grapples with worries that an uncertain economy would potentially trigger spending cutbacks from clients.

The company’s products primarily cater to U.S. property and casualty (P&C) insurers across personal and commercial lines of business, which account for a substantial portion of its revenue.

P&C insurers have been grappling with elevated catastrophe losses for over a year, hurting profits, though the impact has largely been offset by higher investment returns on fixed-income portfolios.

But the environment has prompted some caution among data and analytics firms of P&C insurers, potentially pulling back on spending amid inflation headwinds.

Verisk forecast annual adjusted profit in the range of $6.30 to $6.60 per share, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $6.61 per share, according to LSEG data.

Shares of the company fell 1.2% in premarket trading after it also missed fourth-quarter profit estimates.

New Jersey-based Verisk posted adjusted earnings of $1.40 per share for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with analysts’ expectations of $1.44 per share.

Its underwriting revenue, which comes from offering property-specific underwriting and rating information as well as catastrophe modeling, increased 7.8% to $479 million for the quarter.

Claims revenue, which comes from providing property estimating solutions, fraud-detection tools and casualty solutions, rose 6.6% to $198.2 million.

Verisk’s consolidated revenue rose 7.4% to $677.2 million in the quarter.

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

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