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Business Combinations
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2026
Business Combination [Abstract]  
Business Combinations Business Combinations
During the three-month period ended March 31, 2026, we acquired substantially all of the ownership interest or net assets, as applicable, of the following firms in exchange for our common stock and/or cash. These acquisitions have been accounted for using the acquisition method for recording business combinations (in millions, except share data):
Name and Effective
Date of Acquisition		Common
Shares
Issued		Common
Shares
Value		Cash PaidAccrued
Liability		Escrow
Deposited		Recorded
Earnout
Payable		Total
Recorded
Purchase
Price		Maximum
Potential
Earnout
Payable
(000s)
Krose GmbH & Co KG
   February 25, 2026 (KGC)
66$15 $203 $2 $— $— $220 $— 
Eight other acquisitions completed in 2026
—— 82 2 7 23 114 40 
66$15 $285 $4 $7 $23 $334 $40 
Common shares issued in connection with acquisitions are valued at closing market prices as of the effective date of the applicable acquisition or on the days when the shares are issued, if purchase consideration is deferred. We record escrow deposits that are returned to us as a result of adjustments to net assets acquired as reductions of goodwill when the escrows are settled. The maximum potential earnout payables disclosed in the foregoing table represent the maximum amount of additional consideration that could be paid pursuant to the terms of the purchase agreement for the applicable acquisition. The amounts recorded as earnout payables, which are primarily based upon the estimated future operating results of the acquired entities over a two- to three-year period subsequent to the acquisition date, are measured at fair value as of the acquisition date and are included on that basis in the recorded purchase price consideration in the foregoing table. We will record subsequent changes in these estimated earnout obligations, including the accretion of discount, in our consolidated statement of earnings when incurred.
The fair value of these earnout obligations is generally based on the present value of the expected future payments to be made to the sellers of the acquired entities in accordance with the provisions outlined in the respective purchase agreements, which is a Level 3 fair value measurement (discounted cash flow method of the income approach). In determining fair value, we estimated the acquired entity’s future performance using financial projections developed by management for the acquired entity and market participant assumptions that were derived for revenue growth and/or profitability. Revenue growth rates generally ranged from 5.0% to 15.0% for our 2026 acquisitions. We estimated future payments using the earnout formula and performance targets specified in each purchase agreement and the financial projections just described. We then discounted these payments to present value using a risk-adjusted rate that takes into consideration market-based rates of return that reflect the ability of the acquired entity to achieve the targets. The discount rate was 9.0% for all of our 2026 acquisitions. In some instances, the fair value of these earnout obligations can be based on other valuation methods including the Black-Scholes Option Pricing Method or Monte Carlo Simulation method. Changes in financial projections, market participant assumptions for revenue growth and/or profitability, or the risk-adjusted discount rate, would result in a change in the fair value of recorded earnout obligations.
During the three-month periods ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, we recognized $14 million and $13 million, respectively, of expense in our consolidated statement of earnings related to the accretion of the discount recorded for earnout obligations in connection with our acquisitions. In addition, during each of the three-month periods ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, we recognized $3 million of expense related to net adjustments in the estimated fair value of the liability for earnout obligations in connection with revised assumptions due to changes in interest rates, volatility and other assumptions and projections of future performance for 51 and 28 acquisitions, respectively. The aggregate amount of maximum earnout obligations related to acquisitions was $1,385 million as of March 31, 2026, of which $651 million was recorded in the consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2026, based on the estimated fair value of the expected future payments to be made, of which approximately $511 million can be settled in cash or stock at our option and $140 million must be settled in cash.
The following is a summary of the estimated fair values of the net assets acquired at the date of each acquisition made in the three-month period ended March 31, 2026 (in millions):
KGC
Eight Other
Acquisitions
Total
Cash and cash equivalents$4 $7 $11 
Fiduciary assets6 5 11 
Other current assets1 — 1 
Fixed assets3 — 3 
Noncurrent assets— 1 1 
Goodwill145 56 201 
Expiration lists102 60 162 
Non-compete agreements11 2 13 
Total assets acquired272 131 403 
Fiduciary liabilities6 5 11 
Current liabilities10 1 11 
Noncurrent liabilities36 11 47 
Total liabilities assumed52 17 69 
Total net assets acquired$220 $114 $334 
Among other things, these acquisitions allow us to expand into desirable geographic locations, further extend our presence in the third-party claims administration, retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage markets and increase the volume of general services currently provided. The excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair value of the tangible net assets acquired at the acquisition date was allocated to goodwill, expiration lists and non-compete agreements in the amounts of $201 million, $162 million and $13 million, respectively, within the brokerage and risk management segments.
Provisional estimates of fair value are established at the time of each acquisition and are subsequently reviewed and finalized within the first year of operations subsequent to the acquisition date to determine the necessity for adjustments. During this period, we may use independent third-party valuation specialists to assist us in finalizing the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed. Fair value adjustments, if any, are most common to the values established for amortizable intangible assets, including expiration lists, non‑compete agreements and trade names, as well as for acquired software, and
earnout liabilities, with the offset to goodwill, net of any income tax effect. On August 18, 2025, we acquired all of the issued and outstanding stock of Dolphin TopCo, Inc., the holding company of AssuredPartners for gross consideration of $13.8 billion. AssuredPartners was a leading U.S. insurance broker with client capabilities across commercial property/casualty, specialty, employee benefits and personal lines and had over 10,900 employees serving through offices located across the U.S., U.K. and Ireland. For details on the AssuredPartners, please refer to Note 3 in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025. The allocation of the purchase price for AssuredPartners is preliminary, as we have not finalized the valuation of certain acquired identifiable intangible assets and net deferred tax balances. Accordingly, the goodwill recorded also represents a provisional estimate based on information available as of the acquisition date and updated through March 31, 2026. Provisional estimates of fair value were used by us to initially record the acquisition of the AssuredPartners as of the August 18, 2025 acquisition date. We are using independent third party valuation specialists to assist us in determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed for this transaction. As of March 31, 2026, and as of the date of this filing, the specialists have not fully completed their analysis and thus these fair value estimates remain provisional. However, based on the work performed to date, in the three-month period ended March 31, 2026, we made adjustments to the amounts initially recorded for expiration lists and trade names. As a result of these adjustments, the amount allocated to expiration lists decreased by $222 million and the amount allocated to trade names increased by $2 million. These non-cash adjustments resulted in a net increase to goodwill of $220 million. The reason for the lower value allocated to expiration lists is due to receipt of additional information regarding average customer lives. These provisional fair value estimates will be subsequently reviewed and adjusted, if necessary, based on the results of the final valuation we expect to complete in second quarter 2026.
The fair value of the tangible assets and liabilities for each applicable acquisition at the acquisition date approximated their carrying values. In general, the fair value of expiration lists was established using the excess earnings method, which is an income approach based on estimated financial projections developed by management for each acquired entity using market participant assumptions. Revenue growth was 3.0% and attrition rates generally ranged from 5.0% to 10.0%, respectively, for our 2025 acquisitions for which valuations were performed in 2026. We estimate the fair value as the present value of the benefits anticipated from ownership of the subject expiration list in excess of returns required on the investment in contributory assets necessary to realize those benefits. The rate used to discount the net benefits was based on a risk-adjusted rate that takes into consideration market-based rates of return and reflects the risk of the asset relative to the acquired business. The discount rates generally ranged from 9.0% to 10.0% for our 2025 acquisitions for which valuations were performed in 2026. The fair value of non-compete agreements was established using the profit differential method, which is an income approach based on estimated financial projections developed by management for the acquired company using market participant assumptions and various non-compete scenarios.
Expiration lists, non-compete agreements and trade names related to our acquisitions are amortized using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives (two to fifteen years for expiration lists, two to six years for non-compete agreements and two to fifteen years for trade names), while goodwill is not subject to amortization. We use the straight-line method to amortize these intangible assets because the pattern of their economic benefits cannot be reasonably determined with any certainty. We review all of our identifiable intangible assets for impairment periodically (at least annually) and whenever events or changes in business circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. In reviewing identifiable intangible assets, if the undiscounted future cash flows were less than the carrying amount of the respective (or underlying) asset, an indicator of impairment would exist and further analysis would be required to determine whether or not a loss would need to be charged against current period earnings as a component of amortization expense. Based on the results of impairment reviews during the three-month periods ended March 31, 2026 and 2025,we wrote off $1 million and $41 million, respectively, of amortizable assets related to the brokerage segment.
Of the $162 million of expiration lists and $13 million of non-compete agreements related to our acquisitions made during the three-month period ended March 31, 2026, $137 million and $13 million, respectively, are not expected to be deductible for income tax purposes. Accordingly, we recorded a deferred tax liability of $47 million and a corresponding amount of goodwill in the three-month period ended March 31, 2026, related to the nondeductible amortizable intangible assets.
Our unaudited consolidated financial statements for the three-month period ended March 31, 2026 include the operations of the entities acquired in the three-month period ended March 31, 2026 from their respective acquisition dates. The following is a summary of the unaudited pro forma historical results, as if these entities had been acquired at January 1, 2025 (in millions, except per share data):
Three-month period ended
March 31,
20262025
Total revenues$4,765 $3,740 
Net earnings attributable to controlling interests822 706 
Basic net earnings per share3.20 2.77 
Diluted net earnings per share3.16 2.72 
The unaudited pro forma results above have been prepared for comparative purposes only and do not purport to be indicative of the results of operations which actually would have resulted had these acquisitions occurred at January 1, 2025, nor are they necessarily indicative of future operating results. Annualized revenues of entities acquired during the three-month period ended March 31, 2026 totaled approximately $59 million. For the three-month period ended March 31, 2026, total revenues, net pretax loss and net earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation, amortization and the change in estimated acquisition earnout payables (EBITDAC) recorded in our unaudited consolidated statement of earnings related to our acquisitions made during the three-month period ended March 31, 2026 in the aggregate, were $7 million, $(3) million and nominal, respectively.