MetLife, Inc.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the MetLife first quarter 2026 conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question and answer session. Instructions will be given at that time. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. Before we get started, I refer you to the cautionary note about forward-looking statements in yesterday's earnings release and to risk factors discussed in MetLife's SEC filings. With that, I will turn the call over to John Hull, Global Head of Investor Relations.

Thank you, Operator, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us for MetLife's first quarter 2026 earnings call. Before we begin, I point you to the information on non-GAAP measures on the Investor Relations portion of MetLife.com in our earnings release and in our quarterly financial supplements, which you should review. On the call this morning are Michelle Halaf, President and Chief Executive Officer, and John McCallion, Chief Financial Officer and Head of MetLife Investment Management. Also available to participate in the discussion are other members of senior management. Last night, we released an earnings call presentation, which addresses the quarter. It is available on our website. John McCallion will speak to this presentation in his prepared remarks. An appendix to the deck features disclosures, gap reconciliations, and other information, which you should also review. After prepared remarks, we will have a Q&A session, which will end promptly at the top of the hour. As a reminder, please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. Now, over to Michel.

Thank you, John, and good morning, everyone. This was an excellent quarter. and a strong start to the year as we demonstrated the full earnings power of MetLife guided by our new frontier strategy. Adjusted earnings were ahead of last year for all operating business segments with across the board top line growth. Margins were resilient and we deployed capital with discipline, investing responsibly in growth and returning excess capital to shareholders. Importantly, this quarter's performance was balanced and repeatable. Each of the key elements that drive our strategy, diversified businesses, disciplined capital allocation, and investment portfolio and balance sheet strength, all came together to demonstrate the promise and resilience of MetLife's superior value proposition. Year one of New Frontier was about building the right engine to drive growth and establish MetLife as a high-quality compounder over time. Year two is about acceleration and driving execution across our portfolio of market leading businesses where we serve more than 100 million customers. The first quarter provides early evidence that we're moving forward with urgency and discipline and are well positioned to deliver against the ambitious financial commitments we've established. Turning to first quarter results, we reported adjusted earnings of $1.6 billion or $2.42 per share. Adjusted earnings increased 18% from the prior year period. Adjusted earnings per share increased 23% year over year, faster than earnings growth, reflecting our steady capital management. Adjusted premiums, fees, and other revenues, excluding pension risk transfers, increased 10% year over year. Growth was broad-based, spanning nearly all businesses and regions. Variable investment income totaled $518 million pre-tax, marking the third consecutive quarter of above expectation VII. The first quarter result was near the top of the range we announced last month and driven by higher private equity returns, roughly 2.9%, aided by strong venture capital performance. Adjusted return on equity was 17%, at the top end of our 15 to 17% target range, and far above our cost of capital. Our direct expense ratio was 11.9%, an improvement from last year and favorable relative to our full-year target. This result is even more impressive when you consider the integration of Pinebridge, a business with a structurally higher expense profile typical of asset managers. Turning to the performance of our business segments, starting with group benefits, The segment generated adjusted earnings of $439 million, up 19% year over year. Life mortality in the quarter was exceptional as working population mortality continues to trend favorably and was further helped by a light flu season this year. Total sales were up 15% in the quarter and adjusted PFOs, excluding participating contracts, rose 4%. Within national accounts, Our persistency is in the high 90s, and our average customer tenure is more than 20 years, illustrating the strength of group benefits contribution to our recurring revenue model and its consistent compounding of value over time. Looking ahead, our market leadership, scale, and enduring customer relationships position us well to drive growth in the most attractive segment of the U.S. life insurance market. Employers continue to see the value of benefits beyond medical coverage as a cost-effective way to support their employees' health and financial security journeys in a tight economy. Moving to Retirement and Income Solutions, or RIS, we reported adjusted earnings of $451 million, up 11% from a year ago, lifted by strong variable investment income. After a record-setting fourth quarter for pension risk transfers and longevity reinsurance, newer additions to the lineup, UK-funded reinsurance and retail annuity reinsurance, contributed $1.5 billion of new sales, further reinforcing the diversity of our product offerings. The breadth of our global retirement opportunity set is substantial and extends around the world to include top markets such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. These are markets where demographics are driving the demand for income, which our product suite is well suited to provide. Turning now to Asia, the region delivered an outstanding quarter. Adjusted earnings of $487 million increased 31%. Sales performance in the quarter was very strong, as the region advanced 22% on a constant currency basis. In Japan, our largest market in Asia, we saw continued strength in both FX and yen-denominated products. We also benefited from a new corporate accident and health product introduced in the quarter. Altogether, Japan sales rose 26% on a constant currency basis. For Korea, our second-largest market in Asia, the combination of a solid economy and our product innovation has been a driver of growth, with constant currency sales increasing 44%. In Latin America, adjusted earnings totaled $229 million, an increase of 5%, despite the impact of last year's tax change in Mexico. Performance was supported by robust sales growth and persistency in the quarter, with sales increasing 20% and adjusted PFOs up 11%, both on a constant currency basis. The region demonstrated strong underlying momentum in the quarter, led by employee benefits growth in Mexico retirement annuity demand in Chile, and the ongoing expansion of Accelerator in Brazil. Turning to INEA, adjusted earnings of $110 million rose 33%, with adjusted PFOs up 15% on a constant currency basis. Our strategic focus on capital light, accident and health, and live products is delivering results. The cumulative impact of strong sales across multiple markets for the past several years is clearly showing up in adjusted PFO and adjusted earnings growth. Before I move on, we made the difficult decision to divest our business in Ukraine, a phenomenal example of resilience in the face of the most challenging circumstances. Going forward, this market-leading franchise will be even better positioned to continue its growth trajectory with its new regional parent. Now shifting to MetLife Investment Management, or MEM, The new segment delivered adjusted earnings of $47 million, an increase of 68% following the first fully integrated quarter post the Pine Ridge acquisition. Institutional client assets under management decreased 1.9% sequentially during the quarter, mostly due to market depreciation in equity and public fixed income, as well as modest net third-party outflows. NEM's pipeline and forward commitments look strong, particularly within private assets. Let me briefly touch on artificial intelligence, which continues to play an important role in advancing our new frontier strategy, strengthening how we run the company and driving growth and efficiency. Over the past five years, we've invested more than $3.2 billion to simplify and modernize our technology ecosystem. That investment is delivering tangible at scale benefits for our customers, associates, and operations. As we continue to adopt AI responsibly, we're improving how we make decisions, enhancing how we serve customers, and reducing friction across the enterprise. Our work to embed AI across core operations, combined with consistent execution, is reducing complexity and costs by driving productivity and supporting growth, and can be seen in the steady improvement in our direct expense ratio. For our customers, AI helps us respond faster, provide more relevant guidance, and make our products easier to understand, leading to increased uptake. Above all, governance and risk oversight are built into how we deploy AI, which is paramount given the trust placed in us by our customers. Shifting to cash and capital, we've been active on a number of capital management fronts. First, We repurchased roughly $750 million of MetLife common shares and paid common dividends of around $370 million for a total of roughly $1.1 billion returned to shareholders in the quarter. We repurchased nearly another $200 million of Met common shares in April, and we have $1.1 billion remaining on our existing authorization. Second, signaling our financial strength and flexibility, our board of directors announced a 4.4% increase in McLeish's common dividend per share. And finally, during the quarter, we opportunistically issued $1 billion of subordinated debt to support our balance sheet and provide growth capital. At its height, the offering was oversubscribed more than five times and was issued at tight relative spreads, indicating the value and confidence that the fixed income market attributes to MetLife's balance sheet. It's important to note we executed these capital actions while also funding the quarter's substantial organic business growth. And we closed the quarter with $3.9 billion of cash at our holding companies, which is at the top end of our $3 to $4 billion liquidity target buffer. Before I close, I would like to take a moment to welcome Dan Glazer and Michelle Seitz, who joined MetLife's Board of Directors in February. I am confident that Dan's deep experience in the insurance industry and Michelle's track record across investment management will serve MetLife shareholders well. In closing, this was an excellent quarter that illustrates the investment case for MetLife. Under New Frontier, the decisions we are making and the actions we are taking continue to translate into durable earnings power, capital flexibility, and attractive risk adjusted returns across cycles. Our New Frontier strategy is deeply informed by the environment around us. From demographic shifts and higher interest rates, the conversions of insurance and asset management, to the rapid proliferation of AI, We are positioning MetLife to benefit from these forces in a measured, commercially disciplined way. We are pleased with the fast start to the year. This quarter's performance strengthens our confidence in the outlook we have shared and reinforces our belief that New Frontier is the right strategy at the right time. With that, I'll turn it over to John to walk through the results in more detail.