Investor FAQ

General Information

Demutualization

Common Stock Dividends

See the dividends Q&A for more information about common stock dividends.

Shareholder Services

Explanation of Terms

The terms used within press releases and other documents related to financials are defined below. These terms explain the ongoing results of our businesses in a manner that allows for a better understanding of the underlying trends in those businesses.

  • Encaje is our investment in the underlying funds of our mandatory pension operations in Chile and Mexico, as required by local regulators.
  • Net revenue is defined as operating revenue less benefits, claims, settlement expenses, and dividends to policyholders. This provides a more accurate view of the ongoing revenue available to the businesses to fund operational expenses and generate profits.
  • Pretax operating earnings is defined as operating earnings before income taxes, noncontrolling interest and preferred stock dividends. This provides management better insight into the underlying trends of the businesses.
  • Pretax return on net revenue is calculated as pretax operating earnings divided by net revenue.  This metric measures both revenue and expenses of primary business activities in Retirement and Investor Services and Principal International and provides a clearer depiction of these segments’ profitability.
  • Pretax margin is calculated as pretax operating earnings divided by operating revenue. This metric measures both the revenue and expenses associated with the company’s primary business activities and provides a clearer picture of the profitability of Principal Global Investors.  
  • Combined basis is all Principal International companies at 100 percent ownership. Using U.S. GAAP accounting presentation for joint ventures masks the size, growth and profitability of these operations.
  • Premiums and fees is the sum of premiums, fees, and other revenue. Premiums and fees provide management in US Insurance Solutions a current view of the ongoing revenue in the business.
  • Pretax operating margin is calculated as pretax operating earnings divided by premium and fees.  This metric measures the proportion of premium and fees remaining after claims and expenses, excluding income taxes, and provides an indicator of the profitability of the U.S. Insurance Solutions business.
  • Trailing twelve months is a better indicator of trend analysis because it normalizes quarterly volatility over a longer time period.