AXA (AXAHY) Stock Price & How to Invest
Last updated October 2026
Short answer
AXAHY is the US over-the-counter ADR of AXA SA, the Paris-based insurer that is one of the largest in the world, and it gives US investors dollar-denominated exposure to a business now run as a pure insurance compounder: steady high-single-digit EPS growth, a Solvency II ratio above 200%, and a payout of roughly three quarters of underlying earnings through dividends and buybacks. The case is about dependable capital return and disciplined underwriting rather than rapid growth, at a valuation of roughly 10x forward earnings.
AXAHY stock price
As of 2026-10-16, AXA (AXAHY) last closed at $48.12, up 4.0% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $43.04 and $52.14.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or AXA's investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does AXA (AXAHY) do?
AXA SA is a French multinational insurance group headquartered in Paris and led by CEO Thomas Buberl. It writes property and casualty (P&C) insurance for individuals and businesses, health and protection cover, and savings and life products, across France, the rest of Europe (notably Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, Spain and the UK and Ireland), Asia, and a set of international markets in Africa and Latin America. Through AXA XL it also runs one of the larger global specialty commercial and reinsurance platforms, writing complex risks such as marine, aviation, energy, cyber, and large property programs. In 2025 the group reported gross written premiums and other revenues of about EUR 116 billion (roughly $130 billion), up about 6%, and underlying earnings of about EUR 8.4 billion. AXA has spent the last several years simplifying itself: it sold its asset manager, AXA Investment Managers, to BNP Paribas for about EUR 5.1 billion in July 2025, keeping control over asset allocation through a long-term partnership, and it bought a 51% stake in Prima, the Italian digital motor insurer, in late 2025.
The investment picture is that of a mature, cash-generative insurer with a clear capital return policy. Underlying earnings per share rose about 8% in 2025 to EUR 3.86 and another 8% in the first half of 2026 to EUR 2.19, helped as much by share buybacks as by profit growth. The Solvency II ratio stood around 224% at the end of 2025, comfortably above the group's comfort zone, which funds a dividend of EUR 2.32 per share for 2025 and an annual buyback of up to EUR 1.25 billion. In September 2026 management set out its 2027 to 2029 plan, Growing Forward, targeting 7% to 9% annual underlying EPS growth, a 15% to 17% underlying return on equity, roughly EUR 25 billion of cumulative organic cash upstream, and a 75% total payout ratio. The shares, which trade around 10x forward earnings with a dividend yield in the mid 5% range, are priced as a steady compounder, so what moves them tends to be execution against targets, catastrophe losses, interest rates, and for US holders the euro to dollar exchange rate.
What's driving AXA (AXAHY)?
1. Growing Forward 2029 and EPS compounding
The new plan, presented on September 15, 2026, raises the bar from the prior Unlock the Future cycle. Management targets underlying EPS growth of 7% to 9% a year from 2026 to 2029, versus 6% to 8% before, and an underlying ROE of 15% to 17%, up from 14% to 16%. It also aims for book value per share growth, dividends included, in the mid-teens percent and for at least 100 million customers by the end of 2029. Because AXA has hit or beaten its previous plan targets, the market tends to treat these numbers as credible, which means the bar for a positive surprise is also higher.
2. Capital return: dividends plus buybacks
AXA's capital framework now targets a total distribution of about 75% of underlying earnings, split between a progressive cash dividend and recurring share buybacks. The 2025 dividend was raised about 8% to EUR 2.32 per share, AXA launched an annual buyback of up to EUR 1.25 billion, and it also completed a roughly EUR 3.8 billion buyback funded by the AXA IM sale. Buybacks contributed about 6 points of EPS growth in the first half of 2026 alone, so a falling share count is a meaningful part of the per-share story. Cumulative organic cash upstream of about EUR 25 billion over 2027 to 2029 is what backs this.
3. Retail P&C, health and protection growth
In the first half of 2026, P&C premiums grew about 3% to EUR 35.1 billion, with personal lines up about 8% to EUR 12 billion, while life and health premiums rose about 8% to EUR 31.2 billion. Health and protection are capital-light, recurring lines with improving margins, and Prima adds a scaled digital motor franchise in Italy. AXA is also leaning on AI and automation in claims handling, underwriting and distribution, which management presents as a lever for both cost efficiency and customer acquisition across its European retail books.
4. AXA XL and the commercial pricing cycle
AXA XL is the most cyclical part of the group. After years of remediation it became a solid earnings contributor, but commercial and reinsurance pricing has softened: AXA XL Reinsurance premiums fell about 9% in the first half of 2026 as AXA deliberately pulled back while reinsurance prices dropped roughly 5%, and commercial lines grew only about 1%. How disciplined AXA stays as the cycle turns, accepting lower volume rather than writing underpriced risk, will shape the quality of earnings over the plan period.
What are the risks to AXA (AXAHY)?
Natural catastrophes are the most visible risk: European floods, hailstorms, windstorms and large US property losses can swing the P&C combined ratio and quarterly earnings, and climate change is making these events more frequent. A softening commercial and reinsurance pricing cycle could compress AXA XL margins or force volume shrinkage, and reserve development on older casualty years (particularly US liability, where social inflation has hurt the industry) remains a watch point. Interest rates and credit spreads affect investment income and the Solvency II ratio, and European sovereign spread stress, including French political and fiscal uncertainty, can weigh on both the bond portfolio and sentiment toward French financials. For US holders, the ADR price moves with the euro, and the large Asian (Japan, Hong Kong) and US-dollar businesses add further currency translation effects, as the roughly 3-point FX drag on first-half 2026 EPS showed. Finally, French dividend withholding tax reduces the net income received by US investors unless treaty relief is claimed.
What is the AXA (AXAHY) forecast?
4 analysts publish price targets on AXAHY, averaging $63.83 against a $48.12 price as of October 2026, or +32.6%. The published targets run from $44.00 to $88.10, a moderate spread, and the ratings split 3 buy, 0 hold, 0 sell. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.
Read the full AXAHY forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.
Is AXAHY a buy or a sell?
We give no verdict on AXA. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.
The case for buying. Growing Forward 2029 and EPS compounding. The new plan, presented on September 15, 2026, raises the bar from the prior Unlock the Future cycle. The most optimistic published target, $88.10, assumes this works close to its best case.
The case against. Natural catastrophes are the most visible risk: European floods, hailstorms, windstorms and large US property losses can swing the P&C combined ratio and quarterly earnings, and climate change is making these events more frequent. The most pessimistic target, $44.00, is roughly what AXAHY is worth if this bites instead.
Read the full bull and bear case on AXAHY, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
How is AXA (AXAHY) valued? (approximate, October 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see AXA's investor relations page or your broker.
- Gross written premiums and other revenues (FY2025): ~EUR 116B (~$130B), +6%
- Underlying earnings (FY2025): ~EUR 8.4B; underlying EPS ~EUR 3.86 (+8%)
- Underlying EPS (1H 2026): ~EUR 2.19 (+8% vs 1H 2025)
- Solvency II ratio: ~224% (Dec 31, 2025); ~215% pro forma Jan 1, 2026
- Dividend (paid 2026 on FY2025): EUR 2.32 per share (+8%); yield ~5.5%
- Valuation: ~10x to 11x forward earnings; market cap ~EUR 90B (~$105B); ADR ~$50 (Sept 2026)
AXA trades at a modest multiple of earnings typical of large European composite insurers, with much of the expected shareholder return coming through a dividend yield in the mid 5% range plus a few points of buybacks rather than through multiple expansion. Management guided 2026 underlying EPS growth to the upper end of its 6% to 8% range and the 2027 to 2029 plan steps that up to 7% to 9%, so the valuation implicitly assumes the group keeps delivering on targets. Figures are reported in euros; dollar figures are approximations at roughly 1.15 to 1.17 USD per EUR, and the ADR price and market capitalisation move with both the Paris share price and the exchange rate.
Who competes with AXA (AXAHY)?
European composite insurers
Allianz (Germany), Generali (Italy), Zurich Insurance (Switzerland) and Aviva (UK) are AXA's closest peers. They compete across European retail P&C, life, savings and health, operate under the same Solvency II regime, and are valued by investors on similar metrics: underlying EPS growth, return on equity, solvency ratio and payout. Allianz is the largest and also owns a major asset manager (PIMCO, Allianz GI), which is the model AXA moved away from when it sold AXA IM. Zurich is the most direct competitor to AXA XL in global commercial lines, and Generali is the main rival in Italy, where AXA's Prima acquisition puts it head to head in motor.
Global specialty, commercial and reinsurance carriers
AXA XL competes with Chubb, AIG, Berkshire Hathaway's specialty units, Beazley, Hiscox and the Lloyd's market for large commercial and specialty risks, and with Munich Re, Swiss Re, Hannover Re and SCOR in reinsurance. These businesses are highly exposed to the pricing cycle and catastrophe losses, which is why AXA XL's growth and margins are often compared against Chubb's and the big reinsurers' results each quarter.
Digital, bancassurance and local challengers
In retail lines AXA faces bank-owned insurers such as Credit Agricole Assurances and BNP Paribas Cardif in France, mutual insurers like Covea and Groupama, and digital-first carriers and price-comparison platforms that compress motor and home margins. Its Prima stake is partly a response to this shift toward online distribution, and its AI investment in claims and underwriting is aimed at keeping costs competitive against leaner entrants.
What stocks are similar to AXA (AXAHY)?
Other names that sit close to AXAHY: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.
How to invest in AXA (AXAHY)
There are three common ways to get AXAHY exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so AXAHY sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where AXAHY fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.
New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.
The bottom line on AXA (AXAHY)
AXA is a large, well-capitalised insurer priced like a mature income stock, so the AXAHY story rests on whether the new Growing Forward plan can keep EPS compounding at 7% to 9% while the euro/dollar rate and the property and casualty pricing cycle cooperate.
More on AXA (AXAHY)
Whether AXAHY is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is AXAHY a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the AXAHY stock forecast.
For income investors, whether AXAHY pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does AXAHY pay a dividend? And to weigh AXAHY against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: AXAHY vs ALIZY and AXAHY vs CB.
Wondering how AXAHY fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in AXA with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how AXAHY fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is AXAHY?
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AXAHY is the ticker for AXA SA's American depositary receipt, which trades over the counter in the United States in US dollars. AXA's primary listing is on Euronext Paris under the symbol CS, where it is a member of the CAC 40 and Euro Stoxx 50. AXA voluntarily delisted its ADRs from the New York Stock Exchange in 2010, and since then the ADR has traded OTC as a sponsored program. Each AXAHY share represents one ordinary AXA share, so the ADR price tracks the Paris share price converted into dollars, plus or minus small trading differences.
How do the ADR mechanics work for US holders?
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Each ADR represents one ordinary AXA share held by a depositary bank, which passes through dividends in dollars after converting them from euros and deducting a small depositary fee. Because AXA reports and pays in euros, the dollar value of both the ADR and its dividend moves with the EUR/USD exchange rate: a stronger euro lifts the ADR price, a weaker euro lowers it, even if the Paris share price is unchanged. OTC liquidity is thinner than in Paris, so spreads can be wider. The ADR ratio has been one for one for years, but any ratio change would distort historical charts and 52-week ranges on sites like Yahoo.
How are AXAHY dividends taxed for US investors?
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France applies a withholding tax on dividends paid to non-residents, which at the default rate is 25%. Under the US-France tax treaty, eligible US residents can have that reduced to 15%, either at source if the depositary applies treaty relief or by filing a refund claim with the French tax authorities, which can be slow. The French tax withheld can generally be claimed as a foreign tax credit on a US return, subject to limits, but in tax-advantaged accounts like IRAs the credit is usually unusable. Investors typically check with their broker and a tax professional on how withholding is handled.
How does AXA make money?
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AXA earns money in two main ways. First, underwriting: it collects premiums for P&C, health, protection and life cover and aims to pay out less in claims and expenses than it collects, measured in P&C by the combined ratio. Second, investment income: it invests the large pool of premiums and policyholder funds, mostly in high-quality bonds, and earns a spread. Its main segments are France, Europe, AXA XL (global commercial specialty and reinsurance), and Asia, Africa and emerging markets. In 2025 that combination produced about EUR 8.4 billion of underlying earnings on roughly EUR 116 billion of revenues.
What is in AXA's Growing Forward 2029 plan?
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Unveiled on September 15, 2026, Growing Forward covers 2027 to 2029. Its headline targets are 7% to 9% annual underlying EPS growth from the 2026 base, an underlying return on equity of 15% to 17%, book value per share growth including dividends in the mid-teens percent, about EUR 25 billion of cumulative organic cash upstreamed from subsidiaries, and a 75% total payout ratio through dividends and buybacks. Strategically it emphasises customer acquisition, with a goal of at least 100 million customers by 2029, and scaling AI across underwriting, claims and distribution.
Why did AXA sell AXA Investment Managers?
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AXA completed the sale of AXA IM to BNP Paribas on July 1, 2025 for about EUR 5.1 billion in cash. The sale made AXA a purer insurance company with less exposure to the fee and market-sensitive economics of asset management, and it freed capital that AXA returned through a roughly EUR 3.8 billion share buyback. Under a long-term partnership, BNP Paribas manages much of AXA's investment portfolio while AXA keeps control over asset allocation and asset-liability management. The trade-off is a temporary dilution to earnings, roughly 1 point of EPS growth in 2025, offset by the lower share count.
How strong is AXA's balance sheet?
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AXA's Solvency II ratio, the main European measure of an insurer's capital relative to its risks, was about 224% at the end of 2025 and roughly 215% on January 1, 2026 after a regulatory grandfathering period ended, with the upcoming Solvency II revision expected to add about 17 points. That is well above regulatory minimums of 100% and comfortably within AXA's own target range. Strong capital is what allows the group to sustain its dividend and buybacks while absorbing catastrophe years. Its main operating subsidiaries carry high investment-grade financial strength ratings from S&P, Moody's and AM Best.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with AXA's investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.