Willis Towers Watson — Financial Results
Revenue Fell on Paper, But Organic Growth Tells a Better Story
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reported Revenue | $9.71B | $9.93B | -2% |
| Organic Revenue Growth | — | — | +5% |
The headline revenue drop is almost entirely explained by one event: the sale of the TRANZACT business at the end of 2024. Strip that out, along with currency movements, and the underlying business grew 5% organically. Both the Health, Wealth & Career (HWC) segment and the Risk & Broking (R&B) segment contributed to that growth, suggesting the core business has real momentum.
Risk & Broking Is the Standout Performer
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| R&B Segment Revenue | $4.33B | $4.04B | +7% |
| R&B Segment Operating Income | $1.07B | $958M | +12% |
The R&B segment grew revenue 7% as reported and 6% organically, with strong new business wins and high client retention across all regions. Crucially, profits grew faster than revenue — a sign that the business is getting more efficient as it scales, a quality investors typically find attractive.
A Transformation Program Is Now Behind Them — And the Savings Are Showing
| Item | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction & Transformation Costs | $23M | $409M |
| Restructuring Costs | $0 | $61M |
| Adjusted Operating Income Margin | 25.2% | 23.9% |
WTW spent years and hundreds of millions on an internal overhaul called the Transformation program, which wrapped up at the end of 2024. In 2025, those costs essentially vanished, and the margin improvement is visible — adjusted operating income margin (a measure of profit as a percentage of revenue, stripped of one-time items) rose from 23.9% to 25.2%.
Net Income Swings from a Loss to $1.6 Billion
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Net Income/(Loss) | $1.61B | -$98M |
| Diluted EPS | $16.26 | -$0.96 |
| Adjusted Diluted EPS | $17.08 | $16.29 |
The swing from a loss to strong profit is largely a 2024 accounting hangover — that year included a $1.0B goodwill impairment charge (a write-down of an acquired asset's value) and a large loss on the TRANZACT sale. The adjusted diluted earnings per share figure, which strips those distortions out, rose more modestly from $16.29 to $17.08, reflecting the true underlying improvement.
Free Cash Flow Jumped, and the Balance Sheet Looks Solid
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Free Cash Flow | $1.55B | $1.27B |
| Free Cash Flow Margin | 15.9% | 12.8% |
| Cash & Equivalents | $3.1B | $1.9B |
Free cash flow (operating cash after capital spending) rose 22%, driven by better margins and the end of Transformation-related cash outflows. Cash on hand jumped to $3.1B, boosted in part by a $750M earnout payment received from the 2021 sale of the Willis Re business. The company also has a $1.5B revolving credit facility fully available to draw on.
WTW Is Actively Returning Cash to Shareholders — While Also Acquiring
| Activity | 2025 Amount |
|---|---|
| Share Repurchases | $1.6B |
| Dividends Paid | $358M |
| Remaining Buyback Authorization | $1.3B |
WTW bought back 5.1 million shares at an average price of $321.10 and paid $358M in dividends. At the same time, it raised $1.0B in new debt to fund the acquisition of Newfront (completed in January 2026), a sign management is pursuing growth even while rewarding existing shareholders.