Financial services company Voya Financial (NYSE: VOYA) fell short of the market’s revenue expectations in Q3 2026, with sales flat year on year at $1.94 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $2.60 per share was 0.6% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

Is now the time to buy VOYA? Find out in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).

StockStory’s take

Voya Financial’s third quarter saw a positive market reaction despite revenue missing Wall Street expectations. Management emphasized that disciplined expense actions, including recent severance costs, are helping create operating leverage and support earnings growth. CEO Heather Lavallee highlighted commercial strength in Retirement and Investment Management, as well as improving margins within Employee Benefits, while also pointing to investments in automation and client experience as contributors to the quarter's results. In particular, Stop Loss insurance showed strong performance, and fee-based revenues continued to expand across Voya's businesses.

Looking forward, Voya’s guidance is shaped by continued focus on cost efficiency, reinvestment in high-growth areas such as wealth management, and margin expansion in Employee Benefits. Management expects ongoing benefits from automation, disciplined capital deployment, and selective underwriting in Stop Loss. CFO Mike Katz noted that severance-related expense reductions will further benefit margins into 2027. Lavallee also emphasized the strategic opportunity to leverage Voya’s workplace relationships for broader wealth management growth, stating the company is “well positioned to drive profitable growth while maintaining financial flexibility.”

Key insights from management’s remarks

Management attributed the third quarter’s performance to commercial momentum in core segments, operational streamlining actions, and selective risk management, which collectively offset headwinds in revenue growth.

• Retirement net inflows support growth: The Retirement segment delivered nearly $14 billion in defined contribution net inflows, driven by a large plan implementation and ongoing high retention rates. Management stressed that positive flows are expected to continue, with participant accounts rising 5% year-over-year and fee-based revenue now constituting over 60% of segment revenue.

• Expense management and operating leverage: Recent severance actions and ongoing cost optimization are designed to self-fund growth initiatives—particularly in wealth management—without compromising customer service. Katz highlighted that these actions should lower administrative expenses and allow for reinvestment in areas with the highest return potential.

• Stop Loss underwriting discipline: Employee Benefits margins benefited from disciplined pricing and risk selection in Stop Loss insurance. Management noted that being early in repricing and re-underwriting led to improved loss ratios and positioned Voya favorably in a hardening market, supporting confidence in future earnings growth.

• Investment Management resilient despite outflows: While the wind-down of a legacy sub-advisory relationship created a $5 billion outflow, underlying investment performance and institutional net inflows remained strong. Management cited robust demand from insurance clients for private fixed income strategies and continued progress in growing international retail business.

• Capital deployment and shareholder returns: Excess capital generation was used for share repurchases and a 21% dividend increase, reflecting management’s prioritization of returning capital while maintaining flexibility for targeted M&A in retirement services and continued investment in organic growth.

Drivers of future performance

Management’s outlook for the coming quarters centers on sustaining margin improvements through expense control, selective growth investments, and leveraging workplace relationships for cross-sell opportunities.

• Margin expansion through efficiency: Management expects that ongoing cost control measures, including severance-related reductions, will improve operating leverage into 2027. Katz indicated that expense discipline is intended to offset inflation and support reinvestment in high-return growth areas, with Retirement and Investment Management margins expected to remain stable or improve.

• Growth in workplace solutions and wealth: Leveraging Voya’s base of over 20 million workplace relationships, management plans to broaden wealth management offerings to both Retirement and Employee Benefits participants. Lavallee described this as a significant opportunity, as employers increasingly seek comprehensive financial solutions for their employees.

• Selective underwriting and market conditions: In Employee Benefits, particularly Stop Loss, Voya’s approach of early repricing and greater selectivity is expected to maintain favorable loss ratios as the market hardens. Management cautioned, however, that competition in areas like Group Life may intensify, so ongoing pricing discipline will be critical for sustaining profitability.

Catalysts in upcoming quarters

In the coming quarters, the StockStory analyst team will focus on (1) execution of further cost reductions and whether these translate into sustained operating margin expansion, (2) the ability to generate positive net flows and expand fee-based revenues in Retirement and Investment Management, and (3) continued progress in Employee Benefits margin improvement through disciplined underwriting and pricing. Success in expanding wealth management offerings to workplace relationships will also be a key indicator of future growth potential.

Voya Financial currently trades at $102.96, up from $99.42 just before the earnings. Is there an opportunity in the stock? See for yourself in our full research report (it’s free).

High quality stocks for all market conditions

ALSO WORTH WATCHING: Top 5 Momentum Stocks. The best time to own a great stock is when the market is finally noticing it. These aren’t just high-quality businesses. Something is happening with them right now. Elite fundamentals meet near-term momentum — both boxes checked at the same time.

Find out which stocks our AI platform is flagging this week. See this week’s Strong Momentum stocks — FREE. Get Our Strong Momentum Stocks for Free HERE.

Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+214% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.