Ryan Specialty’s Q3 revenue hike boosted by M&A, organic growth

Ryan Specialty reported $754.6 million in third-quarter revenue, a 24.8% increase over the prior-year period, driven by acquisitions and 15% organic growth, as it ramped up recruitment efforts.

The flow of business into the excess and surplus lines channel remains steady across all lines, despite continued property pricing headwinds, the company’s CEO said.

Acquisitions added nearly 10 percentage points to the top line in the quarter, Founder and Executive Chairman Patrick G. Ryan said during the earnings call.

The Chicago-based specialty intermediary completed its acquisition of JM Wilson during the quarter and earlier this week announced it agreed to acquire Toronto-based managing general underwriter Stewart Specialty Risk Underwriting, which has approximately $13 million in annual revenue.

Ryan Specialty onboarded key talent across Ryan Re and also formed Ryan Alternative Capital Re, a collateralized reinsurance vehicle, in the quarter, Mr. Ryan said.

The company is confident in its ability to deliver yet another year of double-digit organic growth in 2025, and well-positioned to sustain similar levels of full-year organic growth into 2026, he said.

Among its three divisions, wholesale brokerage reported net commissions and fees of $376.8 million, up 8.7%; underwriting management reported $273.1 million, up 65.6%; and binding authority reported $89.6 million, up 17.2%.

Ryan Specialty saw growth across the majority of its casualty lines and modest growth in property lines across all three specialties.

The company reported net income of $62.7 million, up 118.6% from last year’s third quarter.

Ryan Specialty had an “outstanding quarter” in the face of a very challenging property rate environment, CEO Tim Turner said.

“We expect the fourth quarter to face continued deterioration of property pricing given what looks like another benign hurricane season,” Mr. Turner said.

However, the long-term outlook remains optimistic due to the frequency and severity of catastrophe events, as well as the growing population in cat-affected areas, which creates increased demand for E&S property coverage, he said.

“Irrespective of the market cycle, we continue to expect property to be an important contributor to our growth over the long term,” he said.

Ryan Specialty’s casualty practice continues to deliver strong results, driven by new business and high renewal retention, he said.

Pockets of growth in the construction sector during the quarter were driven by rising demand for data center buildouts.

“We also saw strength in a number of other lines, most notably transportation, habitational risks, public entities, sports and entertainment, health care, social and human services and consumer product liability,” he said. Professional lines also saw solid growth despite ongoing pricing pressure.

Casualty loss trends driven by economic and social inflation continue to influence insurers to increase rates, refine their appetite and in some cases step back from certain products, he said.

As many of these products move into the specialty and E&S markets, the E&S market continues to respond in a disciplined manner, he said.

“With typical loss trends likely to continue, we see a long runway for sustained casualty pricing in the non-admitted market,” Mr. Turner said.