Munich Re’s €24 Payout Lands Just as the Stock Sinks to Its Lowest Level in a Year

Munich Re delivers a record €24 dividend and €5.3B capital return, but a strong euro and falling reinsurance prices drag shares near 52-week lows.

Shareholders of Munich Re are collecting a record €24 per share today, but the timing could hardly be less celebratory. The payout—nearly 20% higher than last year and comfortably above the roughly €22 the market had pencilled in—arrives as the stock wallows just above its 52-week low of €506.20, a fresh floor touched earlier this week.

The disconnect between the company’s generosity and its share price is stark. Based on the 2025 closing price, the dividend yields 4.3%, while the broader capital return programme—including a share buyback of up to €2.25 billion running until April 2027—pushes total distributions for the year to around €5.3 billion, or nearly 90% of net profit. That largesse rests on a record 2025 net income of €6.12 billion, the fifth consecutive year Munich Re has beaten its own target of €6 billion.

Yet the operational picture is clouding over. The January renewal round saw reinsurance prices fall 2.5%, prompting the group to shrink its premium volume by 7.8% to €13.7 billion at the start of the year as it walked away from unprofitable contracts. Natural catastrophe premiums alone dropped roughly 6%. The real headwind, however, is currency: a strong euro, which briefly flirted with $1.20 in the first quarter, is eating into the dollar-denominated premiums and earnings that make up a significant slice of Munich Re’s revenue.

The stock has shed about 7.5% since the start of the year and more than 14% over the past twelve months, breaking decisively below all its moving averages. Management is sticking with a 2026 net profit target of €6.3 billion, a modest uptick from last year’s record, and the “Ambition 2030” strategy calls for annual earnings-per-share growth above 8% with a payout ratio north of 80%. But the real test comes on May 12, when first-quarter results will reveal just how much damage currency headwinds and softening prices are inflicting on the bottom line.

Behind the scenes, Munich Re is also reshaping its oversight. Auditor EY will be replaced by KPMG from the 2026 financial year—a return to familiar faces, as KPMG previously signed off on the books until 2019. The change comes as EY remains under heightened regulatory scrutiny following the Wirecard scandal. Meanwhile, the supervisory board has been refreshed: Clement B. Booth stepped down at the recent annual general meeting, and former CEO Joachim Wenning has taken his seat after the statutory cooling-off period expired.