Mortgage insurance provider NMI Holdings (NASDAQ:NMIH) met Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q4 CY2025, with sales up 8.5% year on year to $180.7 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.20 per share was in line with analysts’ consensus estimates.
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NMI Holdings (NMIH) Q4 CY2025 Highlights:
- Net Premiums Earned: $152.5 million (6.2% year-on-year growth)
- Revenue: $180.7 million vs analyst estimates of $181.1 million (8.5% year-on-year growth, in line)
- Combined Ratio: 34.3% (40.3 basis point year-on-year decrease)
- Adjusted EPS: $1.20 vs analyst estimates of $1.19 (in line)
- Book Value per Share: $33.98 (20.4% year-on-year growth)
- Market Capitalization: $3.07 billion
Adam Pollitzer, President and Chief Executive Officer of National MI, said, “The fourth quarter capped another year of success for National MI. In 2025, we delivered strong operating performance, generated significant NIW volume and consistent growth in our insured portfolio, and achieved record financial results and a 16.2% return on equity. We have a strong customer franchise, a talented team driving us forward every day, an exceptionally high-quality book covered by a comprehensive set of risk transfer solutions, and a robust balance sheet supported by the significant earnings power of our platform. Looking forward, we're well-positioned to continue delivering differentiated growth, returns and value for our shareholders.”
Company Overview
Founded in the aftermath of the 2008 housing crisis to bring new capacity to the mortgage insurance market, NMI Holdings (NASDAQ:NMIH) provides mortgage insurance that protects lenders against losses when homebuyers default on their mortgage loans.
Revenue Growth
Insurers earn revenue three ways. The core insurance business itself, often called underwriting and represented in the income statement as premiums earned, is one way. Investment income from investing the “float” (premiums collected upfront not yet paid out as claims) in assets such as fixed-income assets and equities is the second way. Fees from various sources such as policy administration, annuities, or other value-added services is the third. Thankfully, NMI Holdings’s 10.3% annualized revenue growth over the last five years was solid. Its growth surpassed the average insurance company and shows its offerings resonate with customers, a great starting point for our analysis.
We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within financials, a half-decade historical view may miss recent interest rate changes, market returns, and industry trends. NMI Holdings’s annualized revenue growth of 10.5% over the last two years aligns with its five-year trend, suggesting its demand was predictably strong. 
This quarter, NMI Holdings grew its revenue by 8.5% year on year, and its $180.7 million of revenue was in line with Wall Street’s estimates.
Net premiums earned made up 88.2% of the company’s total revenue during the last five years, meaning NMI Holdings barely relies on non-insurance activities to drive its overall growth.
Markets consistently prioritize net premiums earned growth over investment and fee income, recognizing its superior quality as a core indicator of the company’s underwriting success and market penetration.
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Book Value Per Share (BVPS)
Insurers are balance sheet businesses, collecting premiums upfront and paying out claims over time. Premiums collected but not yet paid out, often referred to as the float, are invested and create an asset base supported by a liability structure. Book value per share (BVPS) captures this dynamic by measuring these assets (investment portfolio, cash, reinsurance recoverables) less liabilities (claim reserves, debt, future policy benefits). BVPS is essentially the residual value for shareholders.
We therefore consider BVPS very important to track for insurers and a metric that sheds light on business quality because it reflects long-term capital growth and is harder to manipulate than more commonly-used metrics like EPS.
NMI Holdings’s BVPS grew at an incredible 16.1% annual clip over the last five years. BVPS growth has also accelerated recently, growing by 19.5% annually over the last two years from $23.81 to $33.98 per share.
Key Takeaways from NMI Holdings’s Q4 Results
We struggled to find many positives in these results. Overall, this was a softer quarter. The stock remained flat at $40.20 immediately following the results.
Is NMI Holdings an attractive investment opportunity right now? When making that decision, it’s important to consider its valuation, business qualities, as well as what has happened in the latest quarter. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).