Athene Tops U.S. Annuity Market for Third Year in a Row
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Mar 24 2026
0mins
Source: Globenewswire
- Market Leadership: Athene has ranked number one in LIMRA’s 2025 U.S. Retail Annuity Survey for the third consecutive year, reinforcing its position as the top provider of guaranteed income solutions, showcasing the strength of its business model and support for distribution partners.
- Outstanding Sales Performance: In 2025, Athene achieved nearly $33 billion in fixed annuity sales, over $17 billion in fixed-rate deferred annuity sales, and $15 billion in fixed indexed annuity sales, reflecting strong performance and sustained customer demand in the annuity market.
- Strong Industry Demand: The total annuity industry sales reached $465 billion in 2025, driven by aging demographics, strong returns relative to other guaranteed products, and increasing demand for protected retirement income solutions, with Athene standing out in this context.
- Global Business Presence: Athene operates in the U.S., Bermuda, Canada, and Japan, focusing on providing financial security through a diverse suite of retirement income and savings products while also serving as a solutions provider to corporations, demonstrating its global market strategy.
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Analyst Views on APO
Wall Street analysts forecast APO stock price to rise
11 Analyst Rating
10 Buy
1 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 128.710
Low
136.00
Averages
164.45
High
182.00
Current: 128.710
Low
136.00
Averages
164.45
High
182.00
About APO
Apollo Global Management, Inc. is a global alternative asset manager and a retirement services provider. It operates through three segments: Asset Management, Retirement Services and Principal Investing. The Asset Management segment focuses on three investing strategies: yield, hybrid, and equity. These strategies reflect the range of investment capabilities across its platform based on relative risk and return. The Retirement Services business is conducted by Athene Holding Ltd (Athene), a financial services company that specializes in issuing, reinsuring, and acquiring retirement savings products designed for the increasing number of individuals and institutions seeking to fund retirement needs. Athene product lines include annuities and funding agreements. The Principal Investing segment includes realized performance fee income, realized investment income from its balance sheet investments, and certain allocable expenses related to corporate functions supporting the entire company.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Athene Appoints New President to Drive Growth Initiatives
- Leadership Change: Athene has appointed Matthew Michelini as President of Athene Holding Ltd., effective July 1, 2026, reflecting the company's ongoing growth and expansion across products and channels.
- Market Expansion Strategy: Michelini will be responsible for driving strategic alignment and key growth initiatives at Athene, particularly in reinventing guaranteed lifetime income solutions to meet increasing market demand.
- Extensive Industry Experience: Since joining Apollo in 2006, Michelini has played a pivotal role in the creation and success of several large growth initiatives, including Athene and Hybrid Value, showcasing his deep background and leadership capabilities in the industry.
- Asset Scale: As of March 31, 2026, Athene boasts total assets of $448 billion, committed to providing financial security for individuals while also serving as a solutions provider for corporations, underscoring its leadership position in the retirement solutions market.
See More
Athene Appoints New President to Drive Growth Initiatives
- Leadership Change: Athene has appointed Matthew Michelini as President of Athene Holding Ltd., effective July 1, 2026, reflecting the company's ongoing growth and evolution in its leadership structure across products and channels.
- Market Expansion Strategy: Michelini will be responsible for driving strategic alignment and key growth initiatives at Athene, particularly in reinventing guaranteed lifetime income solutions to meet the increasing market demand, thereby enhancing the company's competitiveness in retirement solutions.
- Extensive Industry Experience: Since joining Apollo in 2006, Michelini has played a pivotal role in the creation and success of several large growth initiatives, including Athene and the Financial Institutions Group, showcasing his significant impact on the company's innovation and market expansion efforts.
- Asset Scale: As of March 31, 2026, Athene boasts total assets of $448 billion, committed to providing financial security for individuals and serving as a solutions provider for corporations, underscoring its leadership position in retirement income and savings products.
See More
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- Stock Price Impact: Despite the increase in shares, the quarter-end value of Ryan Specialty's stake decreased by $6.41 million due to stock price fluctuations, reflecting a 55% decline in share price over the past year, underperforming the S&P 500, which rose 28% during the same period.
- Financial Performance Highlights: Ryan Specialty reported a 15.2% year-over-year revenue increase to $795.2 million in Q1, with adjusted earnings per share rising 20.5% to $0.47, demonstrating strong growth potential even in a challenging insurance market.
- Market Outlook: Management expressed optimism about future market conditions, emphasizing ongoing investments in technology and data capabilities to strengthen competitiveness, and Guardian Point's purchase is seen as a positive response to recent stock weakness, indicating confidence in the company's long-term prospects.
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- Deteriorating Credit Conditions: Analysts at BofA Global Research noted a modest yet unmistakable credit deterioration across the BDC sector, with stagnant asset management growth and weaker fundamentals, as more companies reported earnings contractions than growth, indicating potential underlying stress in the future.
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See More
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- Custom Chip Procurement: The debt financing will be used to purchase custom chips, with Broadcom backing payments and assisting Google in developing these chips, further solidifying its position in the AI hardware market.
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See More
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- Leadership Change: Athene has appointed Matthew Michelini as President of Athene Holding Ltd., effective July 1, 2026, reflecting the company's ongoing growth and expansion across products and channels.
- Market Expansion Strategy: Michelini will be responsible for driving strategic alignment and key growth initiatives at Athene, particularly in reinventing guaranteed lifetime income solutions to meet increasing market demand.
- Extensive Industry Experience: Since joining Apollo in 2006, Michelini has played a pivotal role in the creation and success of several large growth initiatives, including Athene and Hybrid Value, showcasing his deep background and leadership capabilities in the industry.
- Asset Scale: As of March 31, 2026, Athene boasts total assets of $448 billion, committed to providing financial security for individuals while also serving as a solutions provider for corporations, underscoring its leadership position in the retirement solutions market.
See More
Athene Appoints New President to Drive Growth Initiatives
- Leadership Change: Athene has appointed Matthew Michelini as President of Athene Holding Ltd., effective July 1, 2026, reflecting the company's ongoing growth and evolution in its leadership structure across products and channels.
- Market Expansion Strategy: Michelini will be responsible for driving strategic alignment and key growth initiatives at Athene, particularly in reinventing guaranteed lifetime income solutions to meet the increasing market demand, thereby enhancing the company's competitiveness in retirement solutions.
- Extensive Industry Experience: Since joining Apollo in 2006, Michelini has played a pivotal role in the creation and success of several large growth initiatives, including Athene and the Financial Institutions Group, showcasing his significant impact on the company's innovation and market expansion efforts.
- Asset Scale: As of March 31, 2026, Athene boasts total assets of $448 billion, committed to providing financial security for individuals and serving as a solutions provider for corporations, underscoring its leadership position in retirement income and savings products.
See More
Guardian Point Capital Increases Stake in Ryan Specialty Holdings
- Stake Increase Details: According to an SEC filing dated May 15, 2026, Guardian Point Capital increased its stake in Ryan Specialty Holdings by 75,000 shares in Q1, representing an estimated $3.20 million trade, bringing its total holdings to 575,000 shares, indicating ongoing confidence in the company.
- Stock Price Impact: Despite the increase in shares, the quarter-end value of Ryan Specialty's stake decreased by $6.41 million due to stock price fluctuations, reflecting a 55% decline in share price over the past year, underperforming the S&P 500, which rose 28% during the same period.
- Financial Performance Highlights: Ryan Specialty reported a 15.2% year-over-year revenue increase to $795.2 million in Q1, with adjusted earnings per share rising 20.5% to $0.47, demonstrating strong growth potential even in a challenging insurance market.
- Market Outlook: Management expressed optimism about future market conditions, emphasizing ongoing investments in technology and data capabilities to strengthen competitiveness, and Guardian Point's purchase is seen as a positive response to recent stock weakness, indicating confidence in the company's long-term prospects.
See More
Private Credit Market Faces Profitability Risks Amid Losses
- Profitability Risks Intensify: A Reuters analysis of 51 business development companies revealed that unrealized losses reached 2.35% of net asset value in Q1 2026, marking the steepest quarterly loss since Q2 2022, raising concerns over the profitability of the private credit sector.
- Deteriorating Credit Conditions: Analysts at BofA Global Research noted a modest yet unmistakable credit deterioration across the BDC sector, with stagnant asset management growth and weaker fundamentals, as more companies reported earnings contractions than growth, indicating potential underlying stress in the future.
- Interest Income Shift: The study found that BDCs reported approximately $477 million in payment-in-kind (PIK) interest income in Q1, a 2% increase from the previous quarter but below the early 2025 peak of $633 million, suggesting financial strain among borrowers.
- Investor Redemption Trends: Jim Zelter, President of Apollo Global Management, indicated that wealthy individuals are likely to continue withdrawing from private credit funds after several months of outflows, despite solid underlying performance in March, April, and May, suggesting ongoing turbulence in the market.
See More
Anthropic Secures $36B Debt Financing for AI Infrastructure Expansion
- Massive Financing: Anthropic is seeking approximately $36 billion in debt financing through Apollo Global Management and Blackstone to expand its AI infrastructure, reflecting the company's ambitions and strong market demand in the AI sector.
- Technology Acquisition Plan: The debt will be used to purchase Google's custom chips (TPUs), which Anthropic plans to lease, thereby enhancing its computing power and accelerating the training and deployment of AI models, further solidifying its market position.
- Partner Support: Broadcom, as a partner in chip development, is backstopping payments on the largest parts of the deal, indicating that industry collaboration and resource integration will drive technological advancements and market competition.
- Private Debt Structure: This debt syndication is private, meaning only invited investors can participate, with Apollo and Blackstone planning to sell down some debt while retaining a significant portion, demonstrating confidence in Anthropic's future growth.
See More
Apollo and Blackstone Drive $36 Billion Debt Financing for Anthropic
- Large Financing Scale: Apollo Global Management and Blackstone are working to raise approximately $36 billion in debt financing for AI startup Anthropic PBC to support its AI infrastructure expansion, indicating strong market interest in the AI sector.
- Custom Chip Procurement: The debt financing will be used to purchase custom chips, with Broadcom backing payments and assisting Google in developing these chips, further solidifying its position in the AI hardware market.
- Investor Participation: Investors are being asked to submit orders this week, with the deal expected to close next week, reflecting high market attention on the transaction and investor confidence in the future of the AI industry.
- Flexible Deal Terms: Although discussions are ongoing, the terms of the deal could still change, highlighting the dynamic and complex nature of the market environment that may influence investor decisions.
See More
