Phoenix grew its asset management operations by 50% and signals target adjustments
Increase in core profits and growth in assets under management: Phoenix concludes the first half of 2026 with a total profit of 1.57 billion shekels and an increase in business targets. Excellence Trade crossed the 100,000 client threshold. The company will distribute a 400 million shekel dividend and increase its share buyback program.
Phoenix, the largest insurance company in Israel under the management of Eyal Ben Simon, recorded a total profit of 872 million shekels in the second quarter of 2026, a 6% decrease compared to the same quarter last year due to weaker capital market activity. However, the company maintained a strong return on equity of 29.7%. It finished the first half of the year with a 10% increase in total profit to 1.57 billion shekels, with a half-year return on equity of 26.1%.
Against this backdrop, Phoenix announced its intention to raise its business targets later in the year. Core profit, which reflects current operating profitability (long-term savings, insurance, non-bank credit) excluding capital market fluctuations, saw a 7% increase for the quarter to 743 million shekels. In the first half of the year, profit from core activity rose by 10% to 1.45 billion shekels.
Excellence Trade, Phoenix's independent trading company, reached 100,000 clients, with activity continuing to grow at a rapid pace. Total assets under management stood at 658 billion shekels at the end of the first half, an 8% increase since the beginning of the year. Core profit in this sector jumped by 48% to 328 million shekels, and by 36% to 579 million shekels for the half-year.
Conversely, insurance activity results were impacted, with second-quarter core profit at 415 million shekels, a 12% decrease. For the first half, profit in this sector amounted to 873 million shekels, a 2% decline. The primary driver for this decrease was a 50% drop in vehicle insurance profit to 53 million shekels, following a decline in insurance prices over the last year.
Dividends and Share Buybacks
Phoenix announced a cash dividend of 400 million shekels for the second quarter (approximately 1.6 shekels per share), in addition to a 167 million shekel share buyback during the quarter. In total, the company distributed 972 million shekels to shareholders in the first half of the year, and announced an increase in the annual share buyback program for 2026 from 300 to 400 million shekels.
«Phoenix continues to show strong performance and generate strategic growth at a rate higher than expected, even in a competitive market, — said CEO Eyal Ben Simon. — The half-year results reflect the continuation of the trend of changing the activity mix with an accelerated growth of 36% in asset management activities, and we plan to adjust the company's targets in light of the growth in development.»
