Operations Associate I - Trades

Jackson's record quarter powers the bull case. September 16, 2026 Key points. * Jackson Financial posted record second-quarter adjusted operating earnings of $513 million, or $7.30 per diluted share, beating analyst estimates significantly. * The company returned $290 million to shareholders in the quarter and raised its dividend 12.5%, continuing nearly $3.3 billion in returns since 2021. * CEO Laura Prieskorn will retire and be replaced by CFO Don Cummings in October, while analysts hold a Moderate Buy rating with limited upside. * Five stocks we like better than Jackson Financial. Jackson Financial today. Jackson Financial $136.67 -1.54 (-1.12%) As of 03:56 PM Eastern * 52-Week Range - $89.67 | $140.90 * Dividend Yield - 2.63% * P/E Ratio - 191.86 * Price Target - $133.80 When U.K.-based Prudential plc NYSE: PUK spun off its U.S. annuity business as Jackson Financial NYSE: JXN in September 2021, investors might have thought it was a complicated, hand-me-down life insurer. For its first two years, the stock barely moved. Discover more Stocks & Bonds Three years later, that has all changed. A record quarter and a significant leadership transition together make this an important moment to size up whether the company's rally has more room to run. With a nearly 30% increase in its stock price this year, investors need to decide whether chasing the stock now is too late for the party. Record earnings drive momentum. Jackson reported adjusted operating earnings of $513 million, or $7.30 per diluted share for the second quarter, a company record, comfortably ahead of the $5.72 analysts had modeled. Excluding notable items, adjusted operating earnings per share (EPS) grew 55% year-over-year, powered by strong spread income and a shrinking share count from years of buybacks. GAAP net income attributable to common shareholders, which can swing with derivative and hedging accounting, came in at $644 million, or $9.16 per diluted share, versus $168 million, or $2.34 per share, a year earlier. But the GAAP figure is not the number investors most care about. The adjusted operating number, led by sales momentum, is more closely watched. In that, retail annuity sales came in at $5.9 billion in the quarter, up 34% from a year earlier, while sales of its registered index-linked annuities (RILA) hit a record $2.3 billion, up 69%. Capital returns strengthen the case. That shift matters because it feeds into capital returns, which is the real heart of the investment case. Jackson returned $290 million to common shareholders in the second quarter alone, split between $227 million of buybacks and $63 million of dividends, a 34% increase from a year earlier. The company has now returned nearly $3.3 billion to shareholders since becoming independent in 2021. Management reaffirmed its full-year 2026 target of $900 million to $1.1 billion in capital return, building on the $862 million returned in 2025, itself up 47% per share from 2024. The board also raised the quarterly common dividend 12.5% to 90 cents per share, putting the yield around 2.6%. Analysts see limited upside. Analyst sentiment is more mixed than the stock's chart might suggest. The consensus rating among seven analysts is a Moderate Buy, with one Strong Buy, two Buys, and four Holds. The average 12-month target price is $133.80, about 4% below the current share price. The highest target is $149 per share, while the lowest is $105. Two analysts have boosted their target price since earnings were released, as one other analyst upgraded the stock. Leadership change adds risk. There are reasons for caution here, not just profit-taking concerns. Jackson recently announced that longtime chief executive Laura Prieskorn will retire after nearly 40 years with the company. The company will hand the reins to current chief financial officer Don Cummings at the beginning of October. Leadership transitions at complex insurers always carry execution risk, even those described, as this one was, as an orderly succession. Jackson's business also remains exposed to equity markets through its large legacy variable annuity book. The company has flagged that a significant market decline could become a headwind. In addition, Jackson operates in a crowded field of annuity writers, including Lincoln National NYSE: LNC, Equitable Holdings NYSE: EQH, Brighthouse Financial NASDAQ: BHF, Corebridge Financial (NYSE: CRBG) and F&G Annuities & Life NYSE: FG, all chasing the same retiring-Boomer demand for guaranteed income. Jackson's edge has been its No. 1 position in traditional variable annuities and near the top in the fast-growing RILA category. That's been reinforced by a private-credit sourcing partnership with TPG NASDAQ: TPG that Jackson said is already improving new-money yields. The bull case meets a richer valuation. For investors, Jackson looks like a value stock for patient investors. Its share count is shrinking and has a growing dividend, double-digit adjusted operating earnings growth, and a business mix becoming less market sensitive. In general, this is not a flashy growth stock, but a steady compounder that has quietly outperformed while a leadership change and a full valuation catch everyone's attention. Jackson Financial inc. (JXN) price chart for wednesday, September, 16, 2026. For those considering a position, the analyst consensus price target sitting today's share value below might be a signal to wait for a pullback rather than chase the stock so close to its 52-week high. A few more quarters after the leadership handoff and some additional earnings releases, while watching for net flows and capital ratios, could be the right call before committing new money. Before you consider Jackson Financial, you'll want to hear this. MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Jackson Financial wasn't on the list. While Jackson Financial currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys. Enter your email address and we'll send you MarketBeat's list of ten stocks set to soar in Fall 2026, despite the economic uncertainty rattling markets right now. These ten stocks are incredibly resilient and are likely to thrive in any economic environment. Continue following MarketBeat Contributing author. Companies mentioned in this article. | Company | MarketRank(TM) | Current Price | Price Change | Dividend Yield | P/E Ratio | Consensus Rating | Consensus Price Target | | Jackson Financial (JXN) | / | $137.19 | -0.7% | 2.62% | 193.92 | Moderate Buy | $133.80 | | Lincoln National (LNC) | / | $42.93 | -1.2% | 4.19% | 3.73 | Hold | $47.85 | | Prudential Public (PUK) | / | $26.16 | -1.2% | 1.30% | N/A | Moderate Buy | $39.30 | | Equitable (EQH) | / | $53.90 | -0.1% | 2.23% | N/A | Moderate Buy | $61.82 | | Brighthouse Financial (BHF) | / | $48.74 | -0.5% | N/A | 3.89 | Reduce | $60.50 | | Corebridge Financial (CRBG) | / | $34.89 | -0.4% | 2.87% | 20.48 | Moderate Buy | $37.42 | | F&G Annuities & Life (FG) | / | $23.04 | -2.0% | 4.34% | 7.87 | Reduce | $30.00 | | TPG (TPG) | / | $46.41 | -2.1% | 5.09% | 70.96 | Moderate Buy | $63.33 |

Two Midwestern insurers hold $245 million in bonds backed by LeBron James's lifetime Nike sponsorship deal, according to Bloomberg. North American Company for Life and Health Insurance and Midland National Life Insurance Co. purchased the bonds through King James Funding LLC, with initial issuance in 2018 at 4.8% due 2049 and additional bonds in 2022 at 5.75%. These bonds sit alongside traditional investments in insurers' general accounts, which back fixed and indexed annuities. Firms like Jackson Financial and Apollo Global Management increasingly use private credit and asset-backed deals to generate higher yields than corporate bonds and Treasuries. Jackson sold $5.90 billion in retail annuities last quarter, up 34% year-over-year. Apollo's Athene took in $22 billion of retirement inflows in Q2 2025, posting record spread-related earnings of $877 million.

Your annuity might be backed by LeBron's Nike deal: inside the $245 million two retirement insurers are betting on the King. Your fixed annuity and LeBron James share a balance sheet, and the tax consequences of that arrangement fall entirely on you. Here is what the insurers funding his Nike deal are not telling their policyholders. This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them. Somewhere in the general accounts of two Midwestern life insurers sits roughly $245 million in bonds backed by LeBron James's Nike deal. According to Bloomberg, an LLC named King James Funding borrowed almost $300 million in 2018 from North American Company for Life and Health Insurance and Midland National Life Insurance Co., with bonds due in 2049 at a 4.8% coupon. A follow-on $60 million in 34-year bonds priced at 5.75% in August 2022. Guggenheim Partners arranged the deal, and the pledged revenue stream includes James's lifetime Nike sponsorship. Why this sits next to grandma's fixed annuity. Insurers sell you a fixed or indexed annuity and promise a payout for years, sometimes decades. To fund that promise, they buy long-duration assets that earn more than the guaranteed rate. That used to mean corporate bonds and Treasuries. Increasingly it means private credit, asset-backed finance, and one-off deals like the King James bonds. Jackson Financial (NYSE:JXN | JXN Price Prediction), one of the largest US retail annuity issuers, sold $5.90 billion in retail annuities last quarter, up 34% year over year, with record $2.30 billion in RILA sales. Its asset arm PPM America now manages more than $100 billion, and a partnership with TPG explicitly targets higher-yielding private assets to back spread products. Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) owns Athene, which took in $22 billion of retirement inflows in Q2 2026 and posted record $877 million in spread-related earnings. Apollo originated $74 billion in assets during the quarter and calls asset-backed finance and structured settlements a core competency. Athene's fixed income book is 98% investment grade, and its alternative sleeve targets an 11% long-term return. Both firms exemplify the model that produced those bonds, though neither has been disclosed as a party to the LeBron deal. What this means for your annuity tax bill. A non-qualified annuity, the kind you buy with after-tax money outside a 401(k) or IRA, comes with a specific tax bargain. Growth is tax-deferred inside the contract. When money comes out, the earnings portion is taxed as ordinary income, not long-term capital gains, at rates that in tax year 2026 top out at 37%. What happens after A $1,000,000 retirement? How do you continue to grow a seven-figure portfolio in retirement? The last thing you want is to run out of money, you want your money to generate lasting income while you enjoy your life. Learn seven strategies high net worth investors use with new report: The Seven Secrets of High Net Worth Investors from Fisher Investments. Get your guide here (sponsor) Three trap doors matter: * The 10% early-distribution penalty. Pull earnings before age 59[1/2] and the IRS tacks 10% onto your ordinary-income tax. Same rule as an IRA. * No step-up in basis at death. Heirs owe income tax on the deferred gain in a non-qualified annuity. A brokerage account gets stepped up to date-of-death value. An annuity does not. * Ordinary income on the way out. The same S&P exposure held in a taxable brokerage account could qualify for 0%, 15%, or 20% long-term capital gains rates. Inside an annuity, that gain converts to ordinary income at withdrawal. Rich clients' favorite move: 1035 exchanges. Section 1035 of the tax code lets you swap one annuity for another without triggering tax, provided the owner and annuitant stay the same. It is how holders escape old high-fee contracts, roll into a RILA with better terms, or consolidate two annuities into one. Basis and the clock carry over. Boring paperwork, real savings. The Nike-backed bonds are legitimate financial engineering that ordinary savers cannot access. The insurer holding those bonds is likely also holding your neighbor's fixed index annuity. Same balance sheet, very different tax outcomes for who owns what. Two numbers worth watching. Jackson trades at $131.63, up 25.59% year to date and 39.34% over one year. Apollo trades at $133.18, down 6.78% year to date after absorbing a $1.7 billion one-time charge tied to its ACRA Bermuda tax-election revocation in Q1 2026. Withdrawal timing, Roth conversion sequencing, and the 1035 escape hatch are the kind of math worth running with a fiduciary advisor or CPA before signing an annuity contract or drawing one down (the annuity tax traps above are a few of nine IRS rules we mapped in a free retiree tax trap guide). Data sources. This article is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or investment advice. Consult a qualified tax professional about your specific situation. How do you continue to grow a seven-figure portfolio in retirement? The last thing you want is to run out of money, you want your money to generate lasting income while you enjoy your life. Learn seven strategies high net worth investors use with new report: The Seven Secrets of High Net Worth Investors from Fisher Investments. Get your guide here (sponsor) Jake Fitzgerald