Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

When you look at a financial powerhouse like Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH), do you really understand how a company managing a massive $1.1 trillion in Assets Under Management and Administration (AUM/A) as of Q3 2025 actually generates profit and sustains its long-standing mission? This diversified giant, which serves over 5 million client relationships globally, is much more than just an insurance firm; it's a complex engine built on retirement, wealth, and asset management, highlighted by Q3 2025 non-GAAP operating earnings of $1.67 per share excluding notable items. We need to break down the history of this 1859-founded entity, its current ownership structure, and the strategic flywheel that keeps its revenue streams flowing, especially as it navigates a mixed market where its Q3 revenue of $1.45 billion fell short of analyst forecasts. Let's cut through the noise and see exactly where the real value lies for investors and strategists like you.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) History

You're looking at a company with roots stretching back to the Civil War era, and honestly, that long history is why Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) has the scale it does today. It's not a startup; it's an institution that has reinvented itself several times, most recently by spinning off from its French parent. Understanding this journey-from a mutual life insurer to a publicly traded financial services giant-gives you the crucial context for its current strategy in retirement and wealth management.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) Founding Timeline

Year established

The company's roots trace back to 1859 with the founding of The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States.

Original location

New York City, New York, served as the initial base of operations, where it established itself in the Financial District of Manhattan.

Founding team members

The driving force was Henry Baldwin Hyde, an ambitious cashier who left a competitor to found his own firm. William C. Alexander served as the first president.

Initial capital/funding

The company was launched with a stated capital of just $100,000. Here's the quick math: that seed capital grew into an organization with 2025 assets under management and administration of over $1.1 trillion.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) Evolution Milestones

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) Transformative Moments

The biggest shifts for Equitable Holdings, Inc. were about capital structure and focus. The move from a mutual company to a stock company in 1992, followed by the AXA ownership, fundamentally changed its access to capital and its operational focus. That demutualization was defintely a game-changer.

The 2018 IPO and subsequent 2020 name change to Equitable Holdings, Inc. were the final steps in regaining independence. This allowed the company to pivot its strategy toward its core growth drivers: retirement, asset management through AllianceBernstein, and wealth management through Equitable Advisors. This is why you see the aggressive capital deployment now.

• Strategic Capital Deployment (2025): In the third quarter of 2025 alone, the company deployed $1.5 billion of capital, including debt repayment and strategic growth investments, using proceeds from the RGA reinsurance transaction.
• Focus on Wealth Management Growth (2025): The announced acquisition of Stifel Independent Advisors in October 2025 is a clear signal. This move adds a significant wealth management channel with approximately $9 billion of assets under management, expanding their advisory footprint.
• Strong 2025 Financial Performance: The focus is working. Non-GAAP operating earnings for the third quarter of 2025 were a strong $510 million, or $1.67 per share, demonstrating organic growth momentum.

If you want to dig deeper into who is buying into this refocused strategy, you should check out Exploring Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) Ownership Structure

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) is a publicly traded financial services holding company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and its ownership is heavily concentrated in the hands of institutional investors. This structure means that while you can buy shares, the company's governance is primarily influenced by a few large asset managers and its former parent company, which still holds a significant stake.

Equitable Holdings' Current Status

Equitable Holdings, Inc. is a publicly traded entity (NYSE: EQH), which completed its initial public offering (IPO) in 2018. This status mandates high transparency through Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, giving you a clear view into its financial health and governance. As of the end of the third quarter of 2025, the company reported having $1.1 trillion in assets under management and administration, demonstrating its massive scale in the retirement and asset management sectors. The company's market capitalization was approximately $12.94 billion as of November 2025.

Institutional investors, such as mutual funds and pension funds, control the vast majority of the company, holding around 94.67% of the outstanding shares. This level of institutional control is defintely a key factor in stock price stability and strategic decision-making, as these large holders often vote as a bloc on major corporate actions. For a deeper dive on the underlying numbers, you can check out Breaking Down Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Equitable Holdings' Ownership Breakdown

The ownership breakdown reveals a classic pattern for a major financial institution, dominated by large, passive, and active institutional money. The most significant single shareholder is its former parent, AXA, which still maintains a substantial position. Here's the quick math on who controls the company's equity as of late 2025:

What this estimate hides is the power of the top three institutions-AXA, Vanguard Group Inc., and BlackRock, Inc.-which collectively own over 36% of the company, giving them considerable influence over the board and long-term strategy. That's where the real control sits.

Equitable Holdings' Leadership

The company is steered by a seasoned management team, many of whom have long tenures within Equitable Holdings or its principal franchises, Equitable and AllianceBernstein. This stability is a good sign for consistent execution, but it also means the leadership's focus is on managing risk and navigating a complex regulatory environment, not just chasing high-growth tech returns.

The core leadership team as of November 2025 includes:

• Mark Pearson: Chief Executive Officer and President of Equitable Holdings.
• Nick Lane: President of Equitable.
• Jeffrey Hurd: Chief Operating Officer of Equitable Holdings.
• Robin Raju: Chief Financial Officer of Equitable Holdings.
• Kurt Meyers: Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary.
• Julia Zhang: Chief Risk Officer.

Mark Pearson, the CEO, has been in his role since January 2011, reflecting a long-term commitment to the company's direction. His total yearly compensation was approximately $17.43 million, with a significant portion tied to performance bonuses and stock, which aligns his interests with shareholder returns. Plus, Robin Raju, the CFO, was key in leading the company's preparation for its successful 2018 IPO.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) Mission and Values

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) stands for more than just its over $1 trillion in assets under management and administration as of mid-2025; its mission is fundamentally about empowering clients' long-term financial security. This deep-seated purpose, rooted in its 1859 founding, is the cultural DNA that guides its strategic focus on retirement, wealth, and asset management solutions.

You're not just buying a stock; you're investing in a company that sees its role as a steward of financial well-being, not just a seller of products. This clear focus is why their wealth management earnings are on track to hit $200 million in 2025, two years ahead of their original plan. That's a powerful signal of mission-driven execution.

Equitable Holdings' Core Purpose

The company's core purpose is to be a trusted partner, helping clients navigate the complexities of their financial lives so they can focus on living fulfilling lives. This is a crucial distinction from simply maximizing quarterly returns, though they are projected to deliver full-year 2025 earnings per share (EPS) of $5.92. The mission is the 'why' behind the numbers.

Official mission statement

The official mission statement is a plain-English commitment that cuts straight to the point.

• Help clients secure their financial well-being.
• Allow clients to pursue long and fulfilling lives.

This isn't corporate fluff; it's a mandate for every financial professional and product designer. It means providing the right annuities and retirement plans, and it's why the company is undertaking a major strategic divestiture of its Protection business, which is expected to generate an incremental $2 billion capital benefit by mid-2025, allowing them to focus on these core growth areas.

Vision statement

The vision statement maps the mission to actionable strategy, centering on client empowerment and innovation. It's their roadmap for how they will achieve that long-term client security.

• Client Empowerment: Equip clients with the knowledge and tools for informed financial decisions.
• Innovative Solutions: Develop products, like their buffered annuities, that address evolving client needs.
• Financial Security: Offer products that protect against financial risks and promote wealth accumulation.

To be fair, every financial company talks about innovation, but Equitable Holdings has a history here, having pioneered variable life products. Their commitment to individualized guidance is real, with their financial professionals conducting over 2 million client consultations in 2024.

Equitable Holdings slogan/tagline

Equitable Holdings uses its name and its foundational symbols as its primary brand message, embodying its cultural identity.

• The Name is the Message: The name Equitable defines the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of their colleagues and advisors.
• The Symbol: The brand is symbolized by the Greek goddess Athena, representing the core values of courage, strength, and wisdom.

The brand is defintely a nod to its 166-year legacy, emphasizing a commitment to helping generations of Americans face their financial futures with confidence. This focus on enduring values is why the company expects total cash upstream to the holding company to be between $2.6 billion and $2.7 billion in 2025, showing that strong values can drive significant financial performance. For a deeper dive into the mechanics of that performance, you should check out Breaking Down Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) How It Works

Equitable Holdings, Inc. operates as a diversified financial services holding company, primarily generating revenue by managing client assets and selling retirement and wealth protection products through its integrated ecosystem of Equitable, AllianceBernstein, and Equitable Advisors subsidiaries. The company makes money through a fee-based model in its core Asset Management and Wealth Management segments, plus investment income and premiums from its Retirement and remaining Protection businesses.

You're looking for a clear picture of how this massive financial engine runs, and honestly, it's simpler than the jargon suggests. Equitable Holdings leverages its $1.1 trillion in total Assets Under Management and Administration (AUM/A) as of September 30, 2025, across a few key profit centers, using an affiliated advisor network to drive sales and a world-class asset manager to invest the money. It's a classic financial flywheel.

Equitable Holdings, Inc.'s Product/Service Portfolio

Equitable Holdings, Inc.'s Operational Framework

The operational framework is built on an integrated model that connects product manufacturing with distribution and asset management. This structure allows the company to capture margin at multiple points in the value chain, from the sale of an annuity to the management of its underlying assets.

Here's the quick math on value creation: an Equitable Advisors professional sells a variable annuity product (Individual Retirement). That annuity is manufactured by Equitable, and the client's premium is then invested by AllianceBernstein (AB), where Equitable Holdings holds a 69% ownership stake. This integrated approach, what they call the 'flywheel business model,' is key.

• Strategic De-risking: The company completed a major life reinsurance transaction in mid-2025, ceding approximately 75% of its Individual Life business to Reinsurance Group of America (RGA) and Venerable. This move freed up over $2 billion in capital and significantly reduced exposure to future mortality risk and volatility.
• Distribution Expansion: Equitable Advisors, the proprietary distribution arm, drives product sales. The acquisition of Stifel Independent Advisors in Q3 2025, which added over 110 advisors and approximately $9 billion of AUM, immediately expanded the wealth management footprint and advisory net inflows.
• Capital Deployment: Proceeds from the reinsurance deal are being actively redeployed. In Q3 2025 alone, Equitable Holdings deployed $1.5 billion of capital, including $757 million for share buybacks and dividends, plus $500 million in debt repayment.

Equitable Holdings, Inc.'s Strategic Advantages

Equitable Holdings' competitive edge isn't just about product volume; it's about a deliberate, capital-efficient business mix and a distribution advantage. They are defintely moving toward higher-margin, less capital-intensive fee-based businesses, which is what the market rewards right now.

• Premier Investment Capabilities: The majority stake in AllianceBernstein provides a captive, world-class asset manager. This allows Equitable Holdings to offer proprietary, high-performing investment options within its retirement and wealth products, capturing greater margins that competitors must cede to third-party managers.
• Diversified and Captive Distribution: The Equitable Advisors network of financial professionals acts as a primary, dedicated sales channel for Equitable and AllianceBernstein products, ensuring a steady stream of net inflows. This is a difficult-to-replicate asset that drove $2.2 billion in advisory net inflows in Q3 2025.
• Enhanced Capital Flexibility: The strategic reinsurance transactions, which generated over $2 billion in capital value, bolster the balance sheet and provide dry powder for share repurchases, debt reduction, and strategic growth investments in the Asset and Wealth Management segments. The combined NAIC Risk-Based Capital (RBC) ratio is over 500% following the life reinsurance transaction.
• Focus on Fee-Based Growth: The shift away from the capital-intensive Protection segment to focus on the Retirement and Wealth Management segments-which rely heavily on recurring fees from AUM-reduces earnings volatility and targets a more predictable, double-digit earnings growth rate in Wealth Management.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) How It Makes Money

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) is a diversified financial services company that makes money primarily by managing client assets and taking on insurance-related risks. Its revenue engine has three core components: collecting premiums from protection products like life insurance, earning fees from managing over $1.1 trillion in client assets, and generating net investment income from its own general account portfolio, which is the capital backing its insurance liabilities. The business model is a classic financial flywheel, converting client deposits into investable assets to generate recurring fee and spread income.

Equitable Holdings' Revenue Breakdown

The company's total revenue for the third quarter of 2025 (Q3 2025) was $1.45 billion, a figure that was significantly impacted by a one-time life reinsurance transaction. To understand the recurring business, we look at the core streams of premiums and fee/investment income. The overall trend is complex: while core business inflows are strong, the GAAP revenue figure is down 52.8% year-over-year due to the reinsurance deal's accounting impact.

Here's the quick math: Net Premiums Earned came in at $258 million in Q3 2025, which is about 17.8% of the total reported revenue of $1.45 billion. [cite: 3, 5, 6 from previous step] The remaining 82.2% represents the combination of net investment income and fees from asset and wealth management, which is the largest and most stable source of operating earnings.

Business Economics

Equitable Holdings operates on a fee-for-service model for asset management and a spread-based model for its insurance products, where the difference (or spread) between investment returns and policyholder liabilities drives profit. The real economic drivers are the growth in Assets Under Management/Administration (AUM/A) and the yield curve.

• Fee-Based Pricing: In the Wealth Management segment, pricing is primarily asset-based. For products like the Structured Capital Strategies PLUS® annuity, the economic cost is not an explicit fee but is 'built into the way the performance cap and buffer work.' [cite: 11 from previous step] This means the maximum upside (the cap) is adjusted to cover administrative, sales, and risk costs, making the product appear to have zero explicit contract fees to the client.
• Investment Spread: The company's general account portfolio, which backs its insurance guarantees, is valued at approximately $80 billion. [cite: 1 from previous step] This portfolio is heavily weighted toward high-quality fixed-maturity securities (70% rated Aaa, Aa, or A), providing a stable income base. [cite: 1 from previous step]
• Alternative Investments: A key growth lever is the alternative investment portfolio, which delivered an 8% annualized return in Q3 2025, aligning with the long-term target of 8-12% annual returns. [cite: 1 from previous step] This portfolio is crucial for generating the higher yields needed to maintain the spread on long-duration liabilities like annuities.
• Risk Management: The recent life reinsurance transaction, which drove the Q3 net loss of $1.3 billion on a GAAP basis, was a strategic move to offload 75% of mortality exposure, reducing future volatility and freeing up over $2 billion in capital. [cite: 2, 4 from previous step] This is a clear trade-off: a one-time accounting hit for a more predictable, less risky earnings profile going forward.

You can learn more about the company's long-term strategy in the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH).

Equitable Holdings' Financial Performance

The core business health is best measured by Non-GAAP Operating Earnings, which strip out volatile market movements and one-time events like the reinsurance deal. The focus is on recurring, predictable income from fees and investment spreads.

• Operating Earnings: Adjusted Non-GAAP Operating Earnings for Q3 2025 were $510 million, or $1.67 per share, representing a 2% year-over-year increase on a per-share basis. [cite: 1, 2, 4 from previous step] This is the real indicator of the underlying profitability of the business.
• Asset Scale: Total Assets Under Management and Administration (AUM/A) reached a record $1.1 trillion as of September 30, 2025, a 7% year-over-year increase. [cite: 2, 4 from previous step] This massive asset base generates the steady fee income that anchors the company's earnings.
• Segment Contribution: The Retirement segment is the largest operating earnings driver, contributing 66% of the total, followed by Asset Management (AllianceBernstein) at 25%, and Wealth Management at 9%. [cite: 1 from previous step] This shows the company is defintely a retirement-focused powerhouse.
• Capital Deployment: The company is actively managing its capital, deploying $1.5 billion in Q3 2025 alone. This included $757 million returned to shareholders through buybacks and dividends, and a $500 million debt repayment. [cite: 1, 2, 4 from previous step] This aggressive capital return signals strong confidence in future cash generation.
• Balance Sheet Strength: The combined NAIC Risk-Based Capital (RBC) ratio remains robust, exceeding 500% pro-forma for the reinsurance transaction, which is a key measure of an insurer's ability to withstand financial stress. [cite: 8 from previous step]

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) Market Position & Future Outlook

Equitable Holdings, Inc. is strategically repositioning itself to be a high-growth, fee-based financial services leader, leveraging its strength in retirement and asset management to drive future earnings, despite recent one-time financial volatility.

The company's strategic divestiture of 75% of its Protection business and its market-leading position in the high-demand Registered Index-Linked Annuity (RILA) segment are the core drivers of its anticipated trajectory toward achieving $2 billion in annual cash generation by 2027. You need to watch the execution of this pivot; it's defintely the biggest factor.

Competitive Landscape

Equitable Holdings operates in a highly competitive landscape against much larger, globally diversified financial institutions. Its competitive edge is its specialized focus and market leadership in the high-growth Registered Index-Linked Annuity (RILA) product, combined with the integrated investment expertise of its AllianceBernstein (AB) asset management franchise.

The table below compares Equitable Holdings to key competitors, focusing on the most relevant market share data or a strong proxy for market standing as of 2025.

Opportunities & Challenges

The shifting demographics toward retirement and the demand for downside-protected investment products present a clear runway for Equitable Holdings, but the company must quickly manage the risks associated with its legacy business runoff and recent earnings volatility.

Industry Position

Equitable Holdings' position is that of a specialized powerhouse within a broad financial services sector, not a diversified giant like MetLife. The company's focus is on the high-margin, high-demand retirement and asset management segments.

• Assets Under Management/Administration (AUM/A): Total AUM/A reached a robust $1.1 trillion as of September 30, 2025, driven by positive market conditions and net inflows.
• Retirement Segment Strength: The Individual Retirement segment reported net inflows of $1.4 billion in Q1 2025, demonstrating strong client demand for its variable annuity products.
• Strategic Capital: The combined NAIC Risk-Based Capital (RBC) ratio is over 500% pro-forma for the life reinsurance transaction, well above the company's target, indicating a very strong balance sheet.
• Growth Trajectory: Management is confident in an accelerated earnings per share growth in the second half of 2025, targeting a 12-15% EPS growth CAGR through 2027.

To be fair, the recent strategic moves have significantly de-risked the balance sheet, but the challenge now is converting that freed capital into sustainable, high-quality fee-based earnings. Here's the quick math: the $2 billion capital benefit is nearly 16% of the company's current $12.85 billion market cap, so its efficient deployment is paramount. You can dive deeper into the company's financial stability and capital structure by reading Breaking Down Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.