Citizens (NYSE:CIA) President and CEO Jon Stenberg told investors the life insurer is focused on balancing the stability of its U.S. operations with growth opportunities abroad, while expanding domestic distribution through white-label partnerships and modernizing its product set to enter new markets.
Business mix shifts toward the U.S.
Stenberg said Citizens sells life insurance and has historically generated about two-thirds of revenue overseas and one-third in the United States. “What’s interesting is in the last couple of years, we’ve flipped that,” he said, adding that roughly two-thirds of sales now come from the U.S. and one-third from international markets. Over time, as sales convert into renewal premium and revenue, he said the company expects the mix to move closer to a 50/50 split.
He said Citizens has policyholders in more than 75 countries, works with over 3,000 producing agents, employs about 250 people, and is headquartered in Austin, Texas. Stenberg also cited approximately $1.8 billion in assets and said 2025 revenue was “just shy of $200 million,” at $189 million.
On geographic diversification, Stenberg said revenue outside the U.S. primarily comes from Colombia, Taiwan, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Argentina. He added that about 39% of the company’s 2025 revenue came from the United States.
Modernizing products to open additional markets
Stenberg said part of Citizens’ “journey” involves investing to modernize its product portfolio as the company prepares to grow in new markets. He explained that modernization could unlock opportunities in countries where “a more modern type of life insurance” has become standard.
He cited Peru, Chile, and Panama as examples of markets that have moved beyond the types of products Citizens currently sells, and said many Asian markets sell significant volumes of universal life. Citizens currently offers whole life insurance and “some other simple products,” he said.
Stenberg added the company sees strong growth opportunities in the United States and in Asia, including an effort to “grow up market” domestically and expand internationally where the product set has historically limited growth.
Record revenue noted for 2024
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Conklin added that 2024 ended with the highest annual revenue in the company’s history, and that the fourth quarter of 2024 was also the highest-revenue quarter Citizens has recorded. Conklin said the milestone was important given the work the company has put into growth initiatives.
Drivers of 2025 domestic segment net income growth
In response to a question about the domestic insurance segment’s net income rising to $12.1 million in 2025 from $1.9 million in 2024, Conklin pointed to four main factors:
- Higher net investment income as the company reinvested into higher-yielding investments.
- Improved realized gains and losses compared with 2024.
- Higher insurance margin driven by growing business volumes.
- “Favorable updates” to annual actuarial assumptions versus 2024, which Conklin described as the “biggest impact.”
Conklin said actuarial assumptions are updated annually in the third quarter, and the resulting changes can “unlock values” that flow into earnings. He added that the company expects its white-label partnerships to continue to expand volume and insurance margin, supporting earnings growth.
International positioning and white-label strategy
Asked about the company’s structural advantages in international markets, Stenberg emphasized long-standing distribution relationships. He said Citizens has “very strong distribution relationships that are decades long,” particularly in South America and Taiwan.
He also described Citizens’ offering as distinctive for customers in certain countries: a “solid, S.A.F.E. life insurance policy from a U.S. life insurance carrier issued in U.S. dollars.” Stenberg said this can be attractive in markets with histories of political instability or hyperinflation, providing policyholders “a real level of safety and security.”
On the domestic side, Stenberg said Citizens’ white-label capabilities provide a competitive advantage. He argued that successful white-label distribution requires systems and processes built for it “right from the very beginning,” and is difficult to add later. Stenberg said the white-label approach is a key differentiator with U.S. distributors.
He added that more than 50% of premium in the company’s domestic final expense business comes from its white-label process, and said final expense has been the fastest-growing part of Citizens’ business over the past two years. Stenberg said the model should help protect Citizens from potential new entrants and support both retention and growth with existing distribution partners.
Outlook drivers for 2026
Conklin said Citizens expects both revenue and profit growth in 2026, citing three primary drivers:
- Reinvestment into higher-yielding instruments, including investment-grade private placements and asset-backed securities, to increase net investment income.
- Continued domestic growth in final expense, which he said should increase insurance margin and profitability.
- A year-over-year comparison that benefits from expectations that mature endowment activity—elevated in 2025—will be less pronounced in 2026, though still above typical levels.
Conklin said the company is coming off its “second straight year of revenue growth, premium revenue growth,” which he noted Citizens had not experienced since 2016, and that management expects that momentum to continue into another year.
About Citizens (NYSE:CIA)
Citizens, Inc (NYSE:CIA) is a bank holding company headquartered in Conway, Arkansas. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Citizens Bank of Northern Arkansas, the company provides commercial and consumer banking services to individuals, small businesses and corporate clients across Northern and Central Arkansas.
Citizens offers a range of deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside lending solutions such as residential mortgages, commercial real estate loans and consumer installment loans.
