GNW vs MTG: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. GNW and MTG share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined GNW and MTG exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Genworth Financial, based in Richmond, Virginia, is what is left of a much larger insurer after two decades of restructuring. It reports three main pieces. Enact is a private mortgage insurance business that Genworth took public in 2021 and still owns roughly 81% of, and it produces essentially all of the group's operating earnings. The Long-Term Care Insurance segment is a closed block: policies written largely between the 1970s and the 2000s, no longer sold, whose claims and reserves Genworth manages down over decades. A smaller Life and Annuities segment is also in runoff. The newer effort is CareScout, which builds a quality-assured network of home care and senior living providers, earns fees on placements and preferred pricing, and through CareScout Insurance is writing fresh long-term care coverage on modern assumptions. Trailing twelve-month revenue is ~$7.4 billion against a market capitalisation of ~$3.84 billion at ~$10.16 per share.

Full GNW guide

MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE: MTG) is the holding company for Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation, one of the largest private mortgage insurers in the United States. Private mortgage insurance protects lenders and investors against losses when borrowers with high loan-to-value mortgages (typically less than a 20% down payment) default, which lets more people buy homes with smaller down payments. MGIC earns recurring premium income from its large insurance-in-force portfolio (roughly $303 billion as of early 2026), and policies generally stay in force until borrowers refinance, sell, or build enough equity to cancel coverage. It remained the No. 1 private mortgage insurer by market share heading into 2026.

Full MTG guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• GNW drivers: Enact cash flow and the holding company discount; The multi-year rate action plan on legacy long-term care.
• MTG drivers: Recurring premium from insurance-in-force; Aggressive capital return.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The core risk is that the long-term care closed block turns out to cost more than reserved: morbidity, mortality, policyholder lapse behaviour and long-run interest rates all feed the reserve, and a deterioration can require capital that the holding company would rather deploy elsewhere. For MTG, mGIC's core business is highly dependent on the housing market and employment, so its main structural risk is the credit cycle.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick GNW if you believe its drivers more; MTG if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the GNW and MTG guides.

GNW. Figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; check live numbers before acting. Standard earnings multiples do little work here, because GAAP results consolidate all of Enact while charging the full drag of the long-term care closed block, and reported equity of ~$8.7 billion at June 30, 2026 includes the minority interest in Enact and swings with accumulated other comprehensive income. Most analysis of GNW is sum-of-the-parts instead: the market value of the Enact stake, less holding company debt and corporate costs, less whatever haircut the long-term care block deserves.

MTG. MGIC trades at a low single-digit-to-high-single-digit earnings multiple and near book value (book value per share around $24), reflecting the market's discount for cyclical mortgage-insurance earnings. Q1 2026 delivered net income of about $165 million and an annualized return on equity near 13%, with revenue of about $297 million that slightly missed estimates as net premiums earned edged down year over year. Valuation figures are approximate and move with the stock price.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): GNW shows revenue (ttm) ~$7.4 billion, market cap ~$3.84 billion (~$10.16 per share), enact stake ~81% of Enact Holdings (ACT), worth ~$5.5 billion at Enact's ~$6.9 billion market value, adjusted operating income ex-closed block (q2 2026) ~$112 million, or ~$0.29 per diluted share; MTG shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.2B, net income (ttm) ~$738M, q1 2026 net income ~$165M ($0.76/sh), market cap ~$5.6B.

GNW and MTG are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined GNW and MTG exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.