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E-L Financial Corporation Limited

ELF.TO
74
Insurance - Life · Financial Services
Price
C$17.55
+0.14 (+0.80%)
Market Cap
C$6.07B
Exchange
Toronto Stock Exchange
Winston Score
74
Winston is happy
A high-quality business with solid fundamentals.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Exceptional
Growth
Good
Cash Flow
Mixed
Stability
Exceptional
Valuation
Good
Dividends
Good

Share count falling — buybacks

15.9% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 405.4M (2021) → 340.9M (2025)

Winston Score History

The full picture

E-L Financial Corporation is a Canadian holding company that owns businesses in life insurance and investment management. Its main operating subsidiary is Empire Life, which sells life insurance, health insurance, and investment products to individual Canadians and group employee benefit plans. The company also holds significant stakes in publicly traded investment companies, making it part insurance business and part investment portfolio.

E-L Financial earns money through insurance premiums, investment income, and returns on its portfolio of equity holdings. It operates almost entirely in Canada and is controlled by the Jackman family, which gives it a long-term, conservative ownership structure that differs from most publicly traded insurers. The company's concentrated ownership and diversified asset base act as a stability buffer, but its relatively low return on invested capital suggests growth is slow, and its stock trades infrequently with limited analyst coverage, meaning the main risk for investors is low liquidity and limited transparency compared to larger peers.

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+179.8% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue accelerating

EPS Growth

+184.8% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

R&D Spend

C$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (7%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

57.9%ownership

Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

C$20.3B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Revenue accelerating

E-L Financial Corporation Limited grew revenue 180% year-over-year and the growth rate is speeding up. That's the kind of momentum growth investors look for — the question is whether margins can follow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
71.3%
Premium pricing power — 71.3% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
70.3%
Excellent — 70.3% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
22.7%
Exceptional — 22.7% return on capital

ROIC between 15% and 25%. Every dollar invested in the business earns 15 to 25 cents back per year.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+19.4%
Fast-growing sales (+19.4% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
+49.5%
Earnings growing fast (+49.5% YoY)

Earnings growing 25%+ a year. The compounder zone.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
4/8 quarters
Earnings inconsistent quarter-to-quarter

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
29%
Weak — only 29% of profit becomes cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
13.4%
Converts sales into free cash efficiently (13.4%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
0.09
Conservative — low debt load (0.09)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
98.64x
Comfortably covers interest (98.6x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
3.3x
Attractive valuation — P/E 3.3

P/E under 10. The price tag is small relative to last year's profit.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
N/A
not available
Data not available

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Dividends

Dividend
Dividend Yield
6.90%
Healthy income — 6.90% yield

Yield above 6% — often a flag the market is pricing in a cut.

Dividend record
Dividend Growth
-69.8%
Dividend cut (-69.8% YoY) — warning sign

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