Europe Summarizes Financial Year: Record Profits for Insurance Giants and Energy Sector Resilience

The final days of February 2026 brought a wave of enthusiasm to European financial markets as the largest capital groups presented their annual reports for 2025. The absolute leader in growth turned out to be the insurance sector. The Swiss giant Swiss Re announced a net profit of $4.8 billion, representing an impressive 47 percent increase compared to the previous year. This result is all the more significant as the company grappled with high reserves for civil lawsuits in the USA. Similar dynamics were presented by the German group Munich Re, achieving a record €6.12 billion in profit. The boards of both companies announced a generous profit-sharing policy with shareholders through dividends and buybacks. The energy sector, represented by the Italian Eni, demonstrated exceptional cost discipline in the face of falling oil and gas prices. Although the annual net profit adjusted for one-off events fell by 5 percent to just under €5 billion, the fourth quarter of 2025 proved exceptionally strong. The company increased production to 1.84 million barrels per day, reducing the time to bring new fields into operation to just 3.5 years. In the building materials industry, the Holcim conglomerate recorded a nominal profit decline of 73 percent, which was, however, an accounting result related to its exit from the Nigerian market. Excluding currency effects, the company reported stable organic growth, confirming the trend of healthy condition in the European heavy industry. Following the energy crisis of 2022-2023, financial markets entered a phase of stabilization, where operational efficiency and diversification of revenue sources became key success factors. In the logistics and services sector, Italy's Poste Italiane broke records, achieving the highest revenues in its history (€13.1 billion). The transformation from a classic postal service into a parcel operator and financial services provider is yielding tangible results, illustrated by nearly a 10 percent growth in the logistics segment. The year 2025 was also positive for Rolls-Royce's results, which recorded a 37 percent increase in net profit, becoming, according to analysts, a „money-making machine”. Positive signals from so many sectors suggest that the European economy has adapted to higher interest rates and an unstable geopolitical situation, building foundations for further growth in 2026. „The performance of 2025 confirms the effectiveness of our strategy. A resilient business model allows us to create value even in a challenging market environment.” — CEO of the Italian energy conglomerate Eni.