The Board of Management of Munich Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurance companies, intends to propose a dividend of $24 per share for 2025, which is higher than the 2024 dividend and comfortably above consensus for the 2025 financial year of $21.86 per share.
Alongside the dividend proposal, which the Supervisory Board will decide on once the final business figures are available for 2025, the Board has resolved to purchase own shares amounting to a maximum value of €2.250 billion, excluding incidental expenses, in the period from 29th April 2026, until the Annual General Meeting on 29th April 2027, at the latest.
Munich Re explains that the repurchased shares are to be retired, while the share buy-back programme remains subject to the approval of the Praesidium and Sustainability Committee of the Supervisory Board.
For 2023, Munich Re’s Board approved a dividend of $15 per share, above the consensus for the year of $12.49, and in 2024 the Board approved a dividend of $20 per share, again above the year’s consensus of $16.49.
In February 2024, the reinsurance giant resolved to repurchase shares amounting to a maximum value of €1.5 billion in the period from 26th April 2024, until the Annual General Meeting on 30th April 2025, at the latest, resulting in total capital repatriation by the firm of €3.5 billion. The following year, the reinsurer resolved to purchase own shares amounting to a maximum value of €2 billion in the period from 30th April 2025, until the Annual General Meeting on 29th April 2026, at the latest, taking total capital repatriation to €4.6. billion.
For 2025, both the dividend and share buy-back programme for the financial year has increased, with the latter resulting in Munich Re’s capital repatriation hitting €5.3 billion, so increasing by more than 51%, or by €1.8 billion since the February 2024 announcement.
As our readers will be aware, reinsurer profitability has been very strong following the onset of the hard market in 2022/2023, with players such as Munich Re poised to produce another strong performance in 2025.
The higher dividend and continued growth in the level of capital repatriation by Munich Re is a reflection of how much excess capital is in the reinsurance industry, and also shows that for some, it’s more desirable to return capital than deploy the excess.
This could suggest that reinsurers are potentially struggling to find as many profitable opportunities as in the past, given the heightened level of competition in the space, as noted by insurers, reinsurers, and brokers when discussing the recent January 1st, 2026, renewals.
