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Lincoln National Corporation

LNC
37
Insurance - Life · Financial Services
Price
$42.24
+0.36 (+0.86%)
Market Cap
$8.08B
Winston Score
37
Winston is serious
Below-average fundamentals — multiple weak pillars.

Share count falling — buybacks

1.6% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 189.1M (2021) → 186.1M (2025)

Lincoln National Corporation sells life insurance, annuities, and retirement savings products to individuals and employers across the United States. Its main products include term and universal life insurance policies, variable and fixed annuities, and group benefits like disability insurance sold through workplace plans. The company is one of the larger life insurers in the U.S. and owns the well-known Lincoln Financial brand.

Lincoln National makes money by collecting premiums and fees from policyholders, then investing those funds to earn returns that exceed what it pays out in claims. It operates almost entirely in the United States and has roughly $6.4 billion in market value. Its competitive position depends on its distribution network of financial advisors and employer relationships, which are hard to replace quickly. The main risk the company faces is rising claims costs or poor investment returns, both of which can squeeze profits when interest rates shift or markets become volatile.

Winston Score History

Politician Trades

2 trades / 12mo

1 Congressional buy and 1 sell on LNC in the last 12 months.

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Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+12.5% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

+79.6% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (7%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

1.0%ownership

Flat

Insiders holding steady — not selling despite ability to

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$7.3B cash & investments

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth + cash flow

Lincoln National Corporation is a rare growth stock that's already generating positive cash flow while growing at 13%. The Winston Score doesn't fully credit this transition from "burner" to "earner."

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Gross Margin
62.1%
Premium pricing power — 62.1% gross margin
Operating Margin
-4.6%
Losing money on operations — -4.6%
ROCE
-1.5%
Weak — -1.5% return on capital

Negative ROIC means the business is losing money on every dollar invested in it.

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Growth

Sales YoY
+1.6%
Nearly flat sales (1.6% YoY)
EPS YoY
+24.0%
Earnings growing fast (24.0% YoY)

Healthy double-digit earnings growth — what compounders look like.

EPS Consistency
2/8 quarters
Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion
14%
Weak — only 14% of profit becomes cash
FCF Margin
1.3%
Thin free cash flow (1.3%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

Debt / Equity
0.62
Moderate — manageable debt (0.62)
Interest Cover
8.47x
Comfortably covers interest (8.5x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)
4.7x
Attractive valuation — P/E 4.7

P/E under 10. The price tag is small relative to last year's profit.

P/E vs Forward
+0.3
GROWING
Earnings roughly flat

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Dividends

Dividend Yield
4.90%
Healthy income — 4.90% yield

Generous yield. Worth checking whether the payout is sustainable.

Dividend Growth
+0.0%
Dividend flat

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