Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH): 5 FORCES Analysis [Nov-2025 Updated]

As a seasoned analyst, you're looking at Equitable Holdings, Inc. right now, post-major risk-transfer deal, with $1.1 trillion in AUM/A as of Q3 2025, which is a record scale. Honestly, even with strong Retirement net inflows of $1.1 billion last quarter, the competitive ground is defintely shifting; we see intense rivalry in the annuity space and a constant threat from substitutes like ETFs, despite high barriers for new insurers. Before you make your next move, you need to see exactly how low customer power and the high cost of replicating their 4,500-advisor network stack up against the aggressive competition-it's all laid out in this five-force analysis.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) - Porter's Five Forces: Bargaining power of suppliers

When you look at Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH), the power held by its key suppliers really shapes its operational flexibility and risk profile. It's not just about raw materials; for an insurer, suppliers mean reinsurers, technology platforms, and the talent that manages the money.

Reinsurance supplier power is assessed as moderate, but Equitable Holdings took decisive action to shift that balance. They closed a major transaction with Reinsurance Group of America (RGA) on July 31, 2025, reinsuring 75% of the in-force individual life insurance block, which was backed by $32 billion in reserves. This single deal significantly reduced Equitable Holdings' exposure to future mortality volatility.

Technology and data providers are definitely gaining leverage across the industry, and Equitable Holdings is no exception. The push for digital transformation means that the platforms and data analytics services they rely on become mission-critical infrastructure. If those providers raise prices or slow innovation, it directly impacts Equitable Holdings' efficiency in underwriting and client service delivery.

The scarcity of high-value investment talent and distribution capability is a major factor. Equitable Holdings' primary investment talent source is its affiliate, AllianceBernstein (AB), where Equitable Holdings held an economic interest of approximately 68.6% as of April 2025. AB reported preliminary assets under management (AUM) of $860 billion as of September 30, 2025. Furthermore, the distribution strength relies on its 4,500 duly registered and licensed financial professionals within Equitable Advisors, LLC as of the second quarter of 2025.

Here's a quick look at the key resources and the associated figures that define the supplier dynamic for investment and distribution:

Capital acts as a fundamental input, and Equitable Holdings has positioned itself well against supplier power here through strong solvency. Following the individual life reinsurance transaction and planned dividends to Holdings in the second half of 2025, Equitable Holdings maintained a pro-forma combined NAIC RBC ratio of greater than 500%. This is a significant increase from the 425% ratio reported at the end of 2024. This high ratio provides substantial financial flexibility, meaning the company is less reliant on external capital markets or less favorable terms from capital providers.

To summarize the supplier leverage points:

• Mortality risk transfer to RGA covered 75% of the block.
• Equitable Holdings' total AUM/A was $1.1 trillion as of June 30, 2025.
• The pro-forma NAIC RBC ratio is over 500%.
• Equitable deployed $1.8 billion of the RGA proceeds into AllianceBernstein.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) - Porter's Five Forces: Bargaining power of customers

For Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH), the bargaining power of customers remains relatively low, which is a structural advantage in the insurance and retirement sector. This stems from several factors related to customer fragmentation, product stickiness, and distribution control.

Client Base Fragmentation

The power of the customer base is diminished because it is highly fragmented. Equitable Holdings, Inc. serves a vast and dispersed set of individuals and institutions. As of September 30, 2025, Equitable Holdings, Inc. reported having more than 5 million client relationships globally.

This large number suggests that no single customer or small group of customers holds significant leverage to dictate terms or pricing. You are dealing with a base that is spread across various product lines, including individual retirement, group retirement, and wealth management.

• Power is low due to a fragmented base of over 5 million individual and institutional clients.
• Individual client size is typically small relative to total company revenue.

High Switching Costs in Core Products

Switching costs are a significant barrier that keeps customers locked into Equitable Holdings, Inc.'s core annuity and retirement plan offerings. These costs are contractual and financial, making it expensive or disadvantageous for a client to move their assets elsewhere, especially in the near term.

For instance, many of the proprietary annuity products carry explicit surrender charges for early withdrawal. Here's a look at the structure for some of these contracts, which definitely discourages quick exits:

Withdrawals from annuities are subject to normal income tax treatment, and if taken prior to age 59½, they may face an additional 10% federal income tax penalty. Furthermore, transferring or withdrawing all of a Segment's value prior to the Segment Maturity Date may result in receiving less than the Segment Investment. These contractual hurdles effectively raise the cost of switching for the customer.

Customer Preference Indicated by Net Inflows

Despite the potential for customers to seek alternatives, the actual flow of new money demonstrates a strong preference for Equitable Holdings, Inc.'s offerings, further suppressing customer bargaining power. When customers actively choose to place new assets with the firm, it signals that the value proposition outweighs the perceived switching costs or the appeal of competitors.

The Retirement segment, a key area for long-term savings, showed robust client commitment in the third quarter of 2025. Specifically, Retirement reported net inflows of $1.1 billion for Q3 2025. This positive net flow indicates that, for a substantial portion of the market, Equitable Holdings, Inc. products are the preferred choice for new retirement savings.

Influence of the Captive Distribution Network

The primary channel through which many clients access Equitable Holdings, Inc.'s proprietary products is Equitable Advisors, LLC. This network acts as a somewhat captive distribution system, which inherently limits the customer's immediate comparison shopping and negotiation leverage.

Equitable Advisors, LLC, which had approximately 4,446 duly registered and licensed financial professionals as of the Q3 2025 reporting period, primarily offers the company's proprietary insurance and annuity products. While Equitable Advisors, LLC does offer an open-architecture platform to its advisors, the initial and ongoing relationship is often centered around the firm's core, proprietary suite of retirement and protection strategies. This structure means the customer's choice set is often filtered through an advisor incentivized or primarily equipped to sell Equitable Holdings, Inc. products, reducing the customer's ability to easily shop for a non-proprietary alternative.

• The primary sales force is Equitable Advisors, LLC.
• The network has 4,446 licensed financial professionals as of late 2025.
• This channel often focuses on proprietary products.

Finance: draft sensitivity analysis on surrender charge impact vs. competitor rates by next Tuesday.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) - Porter's Five Forces: Competitive rivalry

You're looking at a market where the fight for retirement dollars is fierce, and Equitable Holdings, Inc. is right in the thick of it. The U.S. annuity market itself is attractive, showing total sales of $223 billion in the first half of 2025, which is 3% above the prior year's first half, with projections for the full year to exceed $400 billion. This flow is fueled by a massive demographic shift; honestly, it's a gold rush for retirement assets.

The sheer scale of people needing guaranteed income is what drives this aggressive rivalry. In 2025, a record 4.18 million Americans are turning 65, which averages out to about 11,400 people every single day. This 'Peak 65 Zone' continues through 2027, meaning the target market for retirement solutions like those offered by Equitable Holdings, Inc. is expanding rapidly, drawing in competitors like Corebridge Financial and Jackson Financial.

The competition is particularly sharp in the Registered Index-Linked Annuity (RILA) space, where Equitable Holdings, Inc. was an early leader. New entrants are definitely pressuring the high Internal Rates of Return (IRRs) that Equitable could command when it essentially owned that niche. Still, Equitable executives noted they can still achieve IRRs over 15% on the RILA contracts they sell now. The company's commitment to this product line is clear; their RILA sales increased about 9% between the second quarter of 2024 and the second quarter of 2025, hitting $3.8 billion in that latter quarter. Despite the new competition, Equitable Holdings, Inc. still commands nearly 20% of the total RILA market share.

Here's a quick look at how Equitable Holdings, Inc.'s RILA performance stacks up against some key rivals based on recent reported figures:

To be fair, the entire industry is seeing growth in RILAs; the total industry sold $17 billion worth of RILAs in the third quarter of 2024 alone. This intense product-level rivalry is a direct consequence of the massive retirement opportunity.

The importance of this competitive annuity market to Equitable Holdings, Inc.'s overall health can't be overstated. For the third quarter of 2025, the Retirement segment was the engine, accounting for 66% of the company's adjusted operating earnings, which totaled $510 million after adjusting for notable items. The Asset Management segment contributed 25%, and Wealth Management added 9% to those adjusted operating earnings. So, when competition heats up in retirement products, it directly impacts the largest piece of Equitable Holdings, Inc.'s profitability pie.

You can see the competitive pressure reflected in the segment results:

• Retirement segment reported net inflows of $1.1 billion in Q3 2025.
• First year premiums for Retirement were $5.5 billion, up 3% year-over-year.
• Wealth Management advisory net inflows were a strong $2.2 billion in Q3 2025.

Finance: review the IRR targets on new RILA business against competitor pricing models by next Tuesday.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) - Porter's Five Forces: Threat of substitutes

You're looking at the sheer scale of assets outside of Equitable Holdings, Inc.'s core annuity offerings, and honestly, the substitute pool is vast. The total U.S. retirement market reached $45.8 trillion as of June 30, 2025. When you consider that annuity reserves outside of retirement accounts were only about $2.5 trillion at that same time, it clearly shows that the majority of retirement wealth is held in alternative structures, representing a massive threat of substitution.

Here's a quick look at how the major components of that retirement landscape stack up as of the second quarter of 2025, which helps frame the competition for retirement dollars:

The threat isn't just from other insurance products; it's from the entire investment ecosystem. These substitutes compete directly for the same pool of savings dollars that might otherwise flow into Equitable Holdings' retirement solutions. For instance, in Q1 2025, Equitable Holdings saw $2.0 billion in net flows into its Wealth Management segment, indicating clients are actively choosing non-annuity, advice-driven investment paths.

The primary substitutes you need to monitor closely include:

• Self-directed investment accounts, primarily within IRAs, totaling $18.0 trillion in assets as of Q2 2025.
• Mutual funds held in IRAs, which accounted for $6.9 trillion of IRA assets in Q2 2025.
• Equity funds within IRAs, the most common type, holding $4.0 trillion.
• Mutual funds within 401(k) plans, managing $5.7 trillion (or 62 percent of 401(k) assets) at the end of June 2025.
• Non-insurance-based wealth management services, evidenced by Equitable Holdings' own $2.0 billion net inflow in that segment in Q1 2025.

Government programs serve as the fundamental, baseline substitute for private retirement income. While Social Security and Medicare aren't direct investment products, they set the floor for what individuals need to save privately. The concern about outliving savings is real, with about 64% of Americans worried about running out of money in retirement as of mid-2025.

Furthermore, Equitable Holdings, Inc. is actively reducing its exposure to one of the most traditional life insurance substitutes through strategic action. The company completed an agreement to reinsure 75% of its in-force individual life insurance block to RGA Reinsurance Company, a deal that involved transferring reserves of about $32 billion. This move, coupled with the segment reorganization in late 2025 that moved legacy life insurance business to Corporate and Other, signals a deliberate pivot away from traditional life products and towards the core Retirement and Asset Management franchises, which saw combined net inflows of $4.0 billion in Q1 2025.

Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) - Porter's Five Forces: Threat of new entrants

You're looking at Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) and wondering how easy it would be for a competitor to just set up shop and steal market share. Honestly, for a new player trying to break into the established life insurance and retirement space, the barriers are immense. The threat of new entrants is definitely low, primarily because of the sheer weight of regulatory and capital requirements you'd need to meet.

Consider the capital side. To operate at the scale Equitable Holdings does, you need a fortress balance sheet. Equitable Holdings maintained a combined NAIC RBC ratio of greater than 500% following its July 2025 life reinsurance transaction, which signals a very high level of solvency protection to regulators and clients alike. A startup simply cannot match that immediate capital depth without massive, patient backing, which is a huge initial hurdle.

Then there's the regulatory maze. In 2025, the insurance sector is dealing with strengthened demands around solvency and customer-centric regulation. Furthermore, the asset management arm faces intense scrutiny from the SEC regarding fiduciary standards and marketing content. Navigating this complex, evolving landscape requires years of established compliance infrastructure-something a new entrant would have to build from scratch while simultaneously trying to sell products.

The scale of Equitable Holdings itself acts as a trust barrier. As of September 30, 2025, the firm managed or administered assets totaling $1.1 trillion. When clients are looking to secure their retirement or manage significant wealth, they gravitate toward proven entities. Building that level of trust and operational scale is incredibly time-consuming and expensive.

This leads directly to distribution. You can have the best product, but without a sales force, you have nothing. Equitable Advisors, a key component of the business, fields approximately 4,500 duly registered and licensed financial professionals as of the first quarter of 2025. Replicating a network of this size, complete with the necessary licensing, training, and technology infrastructure, represents a multi-year, nine-figure investment that most new firms can't afford to make upfront.

Here's a quick look at the primary deterrents a new entrant faces:

• Regulatory approval timelines and costs.
• Capital requirements exceeding $1 billion for scale.
• Building a national advisory force like 4,500+ professionals.
• Achieving brand recognition against incumbents founded in the 1800s.

To put the cost of entry into perspective, think about what it takes to compete across the integrated model that Equitable Holdings runs. It's not just one business; it's retirement, asset management (AllianceBernstein), and wealth advice all working together. A new entrant needs to build or buy capabilities across all three, which is far more daunting than just launching a single product line.

The key barriers to entry for a new competitor looking to challenge Equitable Holdings in late 2025 can be summarized like this:

So, while the industry is always evolving, the foundational requirements-regulatory compliance, massive capital reserves, and an established distribution footprint-create a moat that is very difficult and very costly to cross quickly. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.