Marsh McLennan eyes smarter scale

Marsh McLennan reported 9% revenue growth in Q1 2025, with underlying growth at 4%. Adjusted EPS rose 5% to $3.06. The company cited steady performance across Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer, and Oliver Wyman.

McGriff, acquired in late 2024, performed well and is being integrated into Marsh McLennan Agency. The company remains active in M&A, focusing on strategic, smaller acquisitions that add capabilities. Going forward, the focus is “string of pearls” deals that improve capabilities, not just scale. “We have the capacity to do something bigger, but we’re not just looking to get bigger. We do want to grow, of course, but we want to get better along the way. And the businesses that I mentioned make us better, not just bigger. And so we’re really excited and so far so good on all of them,” said CEO John Doyle.

Insurance pricing trends were mixed: global property rates fell 6%, while U.S. casualty rose 16%. Reinsurance capacity remains strong, with rate reductions on non-loss-impacted programs.

Florida reforms are beginning to ease litigation costs. “Some of the insurance companies that we do business with, don’t even like that label [social inflation]. They prefer to call it legal system abuse.” “Every dollar spent on resilience saves communities $13 in damages, cleanup costs and economic impact.” – John Doyle, CEO.

Middle market business remains stable. Oliver Wyman and Mercer both posted 4% underlying growth, with strong performance in insurance and transportation consulting.

The firm highlighted its AI supply chain tool, Sentrisk, as demand for trade risk advisory grows.

Marsh repurchased $300 million in shares and plans to deploy $4.5 billion in capital this year across M&A, dividends, and buybacks.