Principal Financial vs Prudential Financial: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Principal Financial reported $15.6B of revenue in FY2025 and $1.2B of net income. Prudential Financial reported $60.8B of revenue in FY2025 and $3.6B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Principal Financial
- Latest revenue
- $15.6B (FY2025)
- Net income
- $1.2B
- Net margin
- 7.6%
- Revenue growth
- +2.6% a year, FY2016–FY2025
Prudential Financial
- Latest revenue
- $60.8B (FY2025)
- Net income
- $3.6B
- Net margin
- 5.9%
- Revenue growth
- +0.4% a year, FY2016–FY2025
Financial summary
Principal Financial
Principal reported FY2025 revenue of $15.63 billion, down 3.1% from $16.13 billion in 2024, with net income attributable to the company of $1.19 billion versus $1.57 billion a year earlier. Reported revenue swings with investment gains, losses and pension risk transfer premiums, so management focuses on non-GAAP operating earnings: in 2025 adjusted EPS rose 12%, operating margin expanded about 80 basis points to roughly 31%, and operating ROE reached 15.7%. Principal returned more than $1.5 billion in 2025, including about $850 million of buybacks and $685 million of dividends. In Q2 2026 revenue was $3.99 billion, net income $403.4 million, non-GAAP operating earnings $547 million and adjusted EPS $2.50, up 17% year over year, with $1.6 billion of excess and available capital.
Prudential Financial
Revenue for an insurer like Prudential swings with PRT premiums and investment marks, so profit and assets give a better read. Revenue was $70.4 billion in 2024 and $60.8 billion in 2025; year-to-year moves of that size largely track lumpy PRT premiums and investment results rather than the size of the underlying business. Net income rose from $2.727 billion in 2024 to $3.576 billion in 2025 ($9.99 per share). Pre-tax adjusted operating income reached $6.637 billion, up 12%, and adjusted operating income per share was $14.43, up 14%. In Q2 2026, revenue was about $14.15 billion and net income was $985 million ($2.80 per share), including a $299 million after-tax charge from the annual assumption update. Assets under management were $1.642 trillion at June 30, 2026, up from $1.580 trillion a year earlier.
Revenue and profit by year
Principal Financial
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $15.6B | $1.2B | 7.6% | -3.1% | Source |
| FY2024 | $16.1B | $1.6B | 9.7% | +18.0% | Source |
| FY2023 | $13.7B | $623.2M | 4.6% | -22.1% | Source |
| FY2022 | $17.5B | $4.8B | 27.1% | +21.5% | Source |
| FY2021 | $14.4B | $1.6B | 11.0% | -2.1% | Source |
| FY2020 | $14.7B | $1.4B | 9.5% | -9.1% | Source |
| FY2019 | $16.2B | $1.4B | 8.6% | +13.9% | Source |
| FY2018 | $14.2B | $1.5B | 10.9% | +1.0% | Source |
| FY2017 | $14.1B | $2.3B | 16.4% | +13.7% | Source |
| FY2016 | $12.4B | $1.3B | 10.6% | — | Source |
Prudential Financial
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $60.8B | $3.6B | 5.9% | -13.7% | Source |
| FY2024 | $70.4B | $2.7B | 3.9% | +30.4% | Source |
| FY2023 | $54B | $2.5B | 4.6% | -5.1% | Source |
| FY2022 | $56.9B | -$1.6B | -2.9% | -20.2% | Source |
| FY2021 | $71.2B | $8.9B | 12.4% | +24.9% | Source |
| FY2020 | $57B | -$374M | -0.7% | -12.0% | Source |
| FY2019 | $64.8B | $4.2B | 6.5% | +2.9% | Source |
| FY2018 | $63B | $4.1B | 6.5% | +5.5% | Source |
| FY2017 | $59.7B | $7.9B | 13.2% | +1.5% | Source |
| FY2016 | $58.8B | $4.4B | 7.4% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Principal Financial
- Retirement and Income Solutions
Major segment
Employer retirement plans, annuities, income solutions, and spread-based products.
- Principal Asset Management
Fee-based segment
Investment management fees from mutual funds, separate accounts, real estate, fixed income, and institutional mandates.
- Benefits and Protection
Insurance segment
Group life, disability, dental, vision, and specialty benefits sold through employers and advisors.
Prudential Financial
- Premiums (Life Insurance and Annuities)
Not disclosed as a fixed share
Premium income from life insurance policies, annuity contracts, and group insurance benefits constitutes the largest single revenue category for Prudential. Premiums are collected from individual policyholders in the U.S. And international markets as well as from employer group insurance customers. Premium revenue is relatively stable and predictable on a portfolio basis, though individual policy lapses and claims experience create short-term variability.
- Investment Income (General Account)
Not disclosed as a fixed share
Net investment income on the general account portfolio, mainly corporate bonds, private placements, commercial mortgages and government securities, is a core driver of insurance profitability. It depends on the spread between investment yields and credited rates or reserve assumptions.
- PGIM Management Fees
Not disclosed as a fixed share
PGIM earns asset management, transaction and performance fees from external institutional and retail clients and from Prudential's own general account. Company-wide assets under management were $1.642 trillion at June 30, 2026.
- Pension Risk Transfer Premiums
Not disclosed as a fixed share
Pension risk transfer transactions generate one-time large premium inflows when corporate plan sponsors pay Prudential to assume their defined benefit pension obligations. While individual transactions can be irregular in timing, the PRT market has grown consistently and Prudential's market leadership position generates meaningful and growing premium income annually. PRT premiums are immediately reinvested in the general account, creating additional investment income over the duration of the assumed obligations.
- Other Policyholder Account Fees and Revenue
Not disclosed as a fixed share
Additional revenues include fees on variable annuity and variable life insurance separate account balances, asset administration fees, policyholder account charges, and other transactional revenues associated with insurance and investment product management. These revenues tend to be relatively market-sensitive given their dependence on equity market performance for variable product account balance levels.
Business model and strategy
Principal Financial
How it makes money
Principal reports four operating segments. Retirement and Income Solutions earns recordkeeping, administration and asset-based fees on employer 401(k), pension and nonqualified plans, plus spread income on pension risk transfer and other guaranteed products.
Growth strategy
Principal's strategy under Deanna Strable centers on three areas: retirement leadership, the small and midsize business market, and a global asset management platform with growing private markets, ETF and international pension businesses. In 2025 investment management gross sales reached $127 billion and private markets sales rose about 50%.
Competitive advantage
Principal's edge is depth in the small and midsize business market. It can sell an employer a 401(k), group dental and disability coverage, and executive benefits through the same advisor and broker relationships, which makes clients stickier than a single-product provider.
Prudential Financial
How it makes money
Prudential makes money in three ways. First, it collects premiums and policy fees on life insurance, annuities, group benefits and pension risk transfer (PRT) contracts. Second, it invests those reserves in bonds, private placements and commercial mortgages and earns the spread between investment yield and what it owes policyholders.
Growth strategy
Prudential is reshaping itself to need less capital. It sold its full-service retirement recordkeeping business to Empower in 2022 and transferred a legacy variable annuity block to Fortitude Re that year. It shut down the Assurance IQ digital distribution unit in 2023 and launched the Bermuda reinsurer Prismic Life Re with Warburg Pincus in 2023.
Competitive advantage
Prudential's edge comes from scale, ratings and integration. It has a large, highly rated balance sheet that corporate pension sponsors trust with multi-billion-dollar PRT transfers. PGIM gives it in-house origination in private credit, private placements and real estate debt. That means Prudential does not depend on outside managers to source the long-duration assets that back its liabilities.
Questions about Principal Financial vs Prudential Financial
Which company has higher revenue — Principal Financial Group, Inc. or Prudential Financial Inc.?
Principal Financial Group, Inc. reported $15.6B (FY2025), while Prudential Financial Inc. reported $60.8B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, Prudential Financial Inc. is the larger business, with Principal Financial Group, Inc. reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of Principal Financial Group, Inc. vs Prudential Financial Inc.?
Principal Financial Group, Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $19.5B, while Prudential Financial Inc.'s is $41.0B. Prudential Financial Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Principal Financial Group, Inc..
Which is more financially efficient — Principal Financial Group, Inc. or Prudential Financial Inc.?
Principal Financial Group, Inc. generates $801k / employee in revenue per employee, while Prudential Financial Inc. generates $1.65M / employee. Prudential Financial Inc. shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do Principal Financial Group, Inc. and Prudential Financial Inc. make money?
Principal Financial Group, Inc. and Prudential Financial Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Principal Financial Group, Inc.: Principal reports four operating segments. Prudential Financial Inc.: Prudential makes money in three ways.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — Principal Financial Group, Inc. or Prudential Financial Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Principal Financial Group, Inc. trades at 1.2x P/S and Prudential Financial Inc. at 0.7x P/S. Principal Financial Group, Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to Prudential Financial Inc.. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is Principal Financial Group, Inc. bigger than Prudential Financial Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Prudential Financial Inc. ($60.8B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to Principal Financial Group, Inc. ($15.6B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Principal Financial vs Prudential Financial overview