W. R. Berkley Corporation (WRB) — Fundamental Analysis & Key Financial Ratios

Kaplio's reading: W. R. Berkley Corporation

Updated on September 30, 2026 · accounts published on July 20, 2026

Reading of September 30, 2026: A disciplined, highly profitable insurer

W. R. Berkley trades at 2.6× book value, above the 2.5× ceiling its 19.6 % ROE justifies, while its P/E of 14.0 sits 19 % below its ten-year median.

• Is W. R. Berkley expensive or cheap? Its P/E of 14.0 sits 19 % below its ten-year median, but 2.6× book is more than a 19.6 % ROE justifies.
• How is the business doing? Operating margin is 14 % over the last 12 months, down from 16 % in fiscal 2025 but above its 13 % average for 2014-2025.
• How strong is the balance sheet? Debt is 0.28× equity over the last 12 months, just inside the 0.3 prudence line for insurers; the dividend yields 2.8 %.
• What to expect from the next earnings? W. R. Berkley reports on October 19, 2026, with analysts expecting EPS of $1.12, below the $1.27 it posted in July.
• Does it underwrite with discipline and build book value? Book value per share grew 10 % a year over fiscal 2020-2025, above the 8 % a year that marks a healthy insurer.

Is W. R. Berkley expensive or cheap?

W. R. Berkley trades at 2.6× book value over the last 12 months while earning a 19.6 % return on equity. For an insurer that return is high. By the sector's yardstick it still justifies only about 2.0× book, and 2.5× at most, so the market already pays a premium on assets. The P/E looks cheaper against the company's own history: 14.0× over the last 12 months, 19 % below its ten-year median of 17.3×. The stock has traded at a lower P/E only 10 % of the time in the past decade. Against the insurance sector median of 13.3×, though, it carries a 6 % premium. It looks cheap next to its own past and fully priced next to its peers.

How is the business doing?

Revenue grew 8 % over the last 12 months, but EPS rose just 2 %, so profit is lagging sales. Margins explain part of the gap. The operating margin is 14 % over the last 12 months. That is down from 16 % in fiscal 2025 but still above the 13 % average of fiscal 2014-2025. The net margin is 11 % and return on equity 19.6 %, well above the 14 % the insurance sector treats as high. The recent dip looks like a cooling after a strong year. Over twelve years the margin trend still points up.

How strong is the balance sheet?

Debt to equity is 0.28 over the last 12 months. Insurers count as prudent below 0.3, so W. R. Berkley passes, but with little room to spare: any sizeable new borrowing would push it over the line. Shareholder returns are moderate. The dividend yields 2.8 % over the last 12 months and took 39 % of fiscal 2025 earnings. That payout leaves most of the profit in the business to build book value. The record of increases is short: three consecutive years of higher dividends per share through fiscal 2025, well below the ten years that make an insurance dividend aristocrat.

What to expect from the next earnings?

W. R. Berkley reports on October 19, 2026, and the consensus calls for EPS of $1.12. The last report, on July 20, 2026, delivered $1.27 against the $1.08 expected, an 18 % beat. The company has beaten EPS estimates in 6 of the last 8 quarters, so the bar looks within reach. The 2026 EPS consensus has held at $4.87 over the past 15 days among 12 analysts, and revenue forecasts have not moved either. Sentiment is lukewarm: of 30 analysts, 17 say hold, 7 buy and 6 sell. With the shares down 8 % over 12 months and 11 % below their 52-week high, expectations are not stretched.

Does it underwrite with discipline and build book value?

Insurers make money in two ways. They underwrite policies at a profit, and they invest the float, the premiums they hold before claims are paid. Buffett built Berkshire on that model. This is why the sector is judged on operating margin and book value growth instead of sales. W. R. Berkley averaged a 15 % operating margin over fiscal 2021-2025, comfortably above the 10 % five-year average that counts as healthy. Book value per share grew 10 % a year over fiscal 2020-2025, against a healthy threshold of 8 %. Both tests pass. Book value is what an insurer compounds for shareholders, so the 2.6× price to book matters more here than the P/E.

How this was prepared: the data comes from companies' official filings, collected by a professional provider, and from Kaplio's analysis engine (trailing-12-month ratios, 10 years of history and sector medians computed across US-listed companies). The text is written from that data alone, every figure is checked against it before publication, and it is reviewed when the company reports results. This is not investment advice.