Specialty insurance provider Kinsale Capital Group (NYSE: KNSL) missed Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q3 2026, with sales falling 8.6% year on year to $454.8 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $5.70 per share was 11.6% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

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"Our underwriting results this quarter demonstrate discipline in a competitive market," said Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Michael P. Kehoe. "We continue to produce exceptional underwriting margins and strong investment income which allows us to return capital to stockholders. Disciplined underwriting and technology-enabled low costs remain the foundation of our strategy to create long-term value for our stockholders."

Company overview

Founded in 2009 during the aftermath of the financial crisis when many insurers were retreating from riskier markets, Kinsale Capital Group (NYSE: KNSL) is an insurance company that specializes in writing policies for hard-to-place, unusual, or high-risk businesses that standard insurers typically avoid.

Revenue growth

Big picture, insurers generate revenue from three key sources. The first is the core business of underwriting policies. The second source is income from investing the “float” (premiums collected upfront not yet paid out as claims) in assets such as fixed-income assets and equities. The third is fees from various sources such as policy administration, annuities, or other value-added services. Over the last five years, Kinsale Capital Group grew its revenue at an incredible 26.8% compounded annual growth rate. Its growth surpassed the average insurance company and shows its offerings resonate with customers, a great starting point for our analysis.

We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within financials, a half-decade historical view may miss recent interest rate changes, market returns, and industry trends. Kinsale Capital Group’s annualized revenue growth of 13.1% over the last two years is below its five-year trend, but we still think the results suggest healthy demand. Note: Quarters not shown were determined to be outliers because they were impacted by outsized investment gains/losses that are not indicative of the recurring fundamentals of the business.

This quarter, Kinsale Capital Group missed Wall Street’s estimates and reported a rather uninspiring 8.6% year-on-year revenue decline, generating $454.8 million of revenue.

Net premiums earned made up 86.5% of the company’s total revenue during the last five years, meaning Kinsale Capital Group barely relies on non-insurance activities to drive its overall growth.

Net premiums earned command greater market attention due to their reliability and consistency, whereas investment and fee income are often seen as more volatile revenue streams that fluctuate with market conditions.

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Book value per share (BVPS)

Insurance companies are balance sheet businesses, collecting premiums upfront and paying out claims over time. The float — premiums collected but not yet paid out — is invested, creating an asset base supported by a liability structure. Book value captures this dynamic by measuring:

• Assets (investment portfolio, cash, reinsurance recoverables) - liabilities (claim reserves, debt, future policy benefits)

BVPS is essentially the residual value for shareholders.

We therefore consider BVPS very important to track for insurers and a metric that sheds light on business quality because it reflects long-term capital growth and is harder to manipulate than more commonly-used metrics like EPS.

Kinsale Capital Group’s BVPS grew at an incredible 24.2% annual clip over the last five years. BVPS growth has recently decelerated to 17.6% annual growth over the last two years (from $61.62 to $85.25 per share).

Over the next 12 months, Consensus estimates call for Kinsale Capital Group’s BVPS to grow by 27.4% to $95.13, elite growth rate.

Key takeaways from Kinsale Capital Group’s Q3 results

We were impressed by how significantly Kinsale Capital Group blew past analysts’ net premiums earned expectations this quarter. We were also glad its EPS outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. On the other hand, its revenue missed and its book value per share fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this was a softer quarter. The stock traded down 6% to $367.02 immediately after reporting.

Kinsale Capital Group may have had a tough quarter, but does that actually create an opportunity to invest right now? If you’re making that decision, you should consider the bigger picture of valuation, business qualities, as well as the latest earnings. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).