Jamaica’s outlook revised to stable by Fitch after hurricane
Investing.com -- S&P Global Ratings has revised Aon PLC’s outlook to stable from negative while affirming its ’A-/A-2’ ratings, citing significant leverage reduction following the NFP acquisition.
The insurance broker’s S&P-adjusted financial leverage improved to 2.8x for the 12 months ended September 30, 2025. On a pro forma basis, including the $2.2 billion in cash proceeds from NFP Wealth’s divestiture completed in October, leverage further improved to 2.5x. This marks substantial progress from the 3.7x leverage recorded in the second quarter of 2024 after the NFP acquisition.
Aon achieved this deleveraging through a combination of earnings growth and debt reduction. The company has fully repaid its $2 billion term loan secured in April 2024 for the NFP acquisition. To support this debt reduction, Aon reduced share buybacks to $1 billion in 2024 and $750 million in the first nine months of 2025, down from a three-year average exceeding $3 billion during 2021-2023.
The company has maintained strong operational performance, reporting 6% total organic revenue growth for both full year 2024 and the first nine months of 2025. All four operating divisions achieved healthy 5%-7% organic growth throughout these periods, supported by new business and increased client-facing hires despite declining property pricing in 2025.
S&P-adjusted EBITDA margins improved to 35.5% for the 12 months ended September 2025, up from 33.4% for full year 2024 and in line with 35%-36% levels seen in 2021-2023. This improvement stemmed from lower transaction and restructuring costs, operating leverage, and efficiency initiatives.
The rating agency noted Aon’s successful execution of strategic initiatives, including its middle market expansion through the NFP platform. In the first nine months of 2025, Aon acquired $32 million in EBITDA through this platform, with further increases expected in 2026.
S&P indicated that while unlikely, a ratings upgrade could occur if Aon’s leverage approaches 1.5x and funds from operations to debt exceeds 45%. Conversely, ratings could be lowered if debt to EBITDA sustains around 3x or above, or if the company’s business positioning weakens relative to peers.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.