CluenexAflac AFL
Aflac scores average on business quality (4.7 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Aflac does
Aflac sells supplemental health and life insurance, generating cash primarily through policy premiums in the US and Japan. The firm manages capital return via ongoing share buybacks totaling $3.8 billion alongside scheduled quarterly earnings updates.
- What it does best
Aflac dominates supplemental insurance distribution through entrenched payroll deduction channels in Japan and the US. Its operating margin of 33.5% easily outpaces peers like MET at 7.4% and PRU at 8.1%, built on decades of employer relationships that new entrants cannot easily duplicate.
- The main risk
Revenue contraction of 9.3% highlights top-line pressure as premium volume slips. If renewals and new sales fail to recover, cash generation from core underwriting will continue its multi-year downward drift from historical highs above $5.9 billion.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin hits 33.5% with a net margin of 26.9%, placing the firm in the top quartile of its sector for operating efficiency.
Its distribution moat locks in employers and workers via sticky payroll-deduction slots, ranking in the top quartile for sector ROE at 16.4%.
Revenue fell 9.3% over the latest period, continuing a multi-year downward trend from $22.1 billion in 2020 down to $18.1 billion as top-line growth stalls.
Total debt sits at $8.3 billion against $6.2 billion in cash, supported by an interest coverage ratio of 25x which keeps debt servicing manageable.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
1 sold $1.6M outside pre-planned sales.
Our sealed record on AFL
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
Aflac scores average on the Cluenex quality check (4.7 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is fair, moat fair, growth slow and financial health fair.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: 1 sold $1.6M outside pre-planned sales.
Nov 4, 2026, after the close.
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Cite this page: Cluenex, “Aflac (AFL)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/afl/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.