Essent Group (NYSE: ESNT), a leading provider of mortgage insurance and reinsurance, saw its stock price plummet 6.28% in Friday's pre-market trading following the release of its disappointing third-quarter 2025 financial results. The company's earnings fell short of analyst expectations, sparking concerns among investors and leading to a significant sell-off.
The mortgage insurer reported quarterly earnings of $1.67 per share, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $1.78 by 6.29%. Although this represents a slight increase from $1.65 per share in the same period last year, it failed to meet market expectations. Additionally, Essent Group's quarterly sales came in at $311.830 million, falling short of the estimated $315.440 million and marking a 1.50% decrease from the previous year's $316.578 million.
Investors seemed to focus on the earnings miss and the decline in net income, which fell to $164.2 million from $176.2 million in 2024. Despite some positive aspects, such as insurance in force rising to $248.8 billion from $243.0 billion last year, the company faced challenges in new business growth. New insurance written decreased to $12.2 billion from $12.5 billion in both the previous quarter and Q3 2024. The company attributed its Q3 performance to favorable credit trends and the interest rate environment, which enhanced portfolio persistency and investment income. However, these positive factors were not enough to offset the overall disappointing results, leading to the sharp decline in stock price.