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Willis Towers Watson cut its full-year organic revenue growth outlook for its corporate risk and broking business to mid-single digits after a slower start to the year, as Middle East disruption delayed client activity and new business fell short, executives said Thursday.
Willis reported first-quarter revenue of $2.41 billion, up 8% overall from the same period last year, with organic revenue growth of 3%, down from 5%.
Net income rose 27% to $303 million, up from $239 million in the prior-year period.
“Revenue came in at the low end of our plan as we saw the effects of a more challenging and volatile global market environment during the quarter,” CEO Carl Hess said during the brokerage’s first-quarter earnings call with analysts.
Investments in artificial intelligence are gaining scale and driving growth and efficiencies across the business, Mr. Hess said. “Clients are not choosing between human expertise or technology. They expect both,” he said.
AI is central to WTW’s strategy and will become a key driver of value for both clients and the business, Chief AI Officer Spike Lipkin said on the call.
Willis closed its $1.3 billion acquisition of Newfront in January. Newfront’s existing technology is being integrated into WTW’s platform, starting in North America, Mr. Lipkin said.
WTW’s health, wealth and career segment reported revenue of $1.27 billion, up 9% overall and up 3% on an organic basis.
In its risk and broking segment, which includes its corporate risk and broking and WTW’s insurance consulting and technology businesses, revenue of $1.12 billion was up 9% overall and 2% on an organic basis.
Corporate risk and broking posted 2% organic revenue growth in the quarter, down from 8% in the same period of 2025.
“While we had expected a slower start to the year, actuals tracked toward the lower end of our planning range, driven by a miss in new business and the impact of a more competitive pricing environment,” Chief Financial Officer Andrew Krasner said during the call.
The narrowing of its full-year organic growth outlook for risk and broking “does not change our long-term expectations for this business. The specialization strategy continues to resonate,” Mr. Krasner said.
Client retention was strong in the quarter with solid growth across specialty lines, notably surety, credit risk solutions, and mergers and acquisitions specialties, in addition to construction driven by momentum in data center programs, he said.
North America performed more strongly than international operations, which were more exposed to geopolitical headwinds and tougher comparisons, said Lucy Clarke, president of risk and broking.
“We also saw a more competitive pricing environment than we expected, particularly in the large and complex segments,” Ms. Clarke said. CRB’s growth began to normalize in April, she said.
In midday trading, shares in WTW were down nearly 13% at $252.88.
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