Willis Towers Watson (WTW) saw its stock plummet 6.23% in pre-market trading on Tuesday, despite reporting strong fourth quarter and full-year 2024 results driven by organic revenue growth and robust margin expansion.
The global advisory and broking company's revenue rose 4% to $3.0 billion in Q4, fueled by a 5% increase in organic revenue. Operating income jumped 16% to $901 million, with the operating margin expanding by 300 basis points to 29.7% due to savings from WTW's multi-year transformation program.
For the full year, WTW's revenue grew 5% to $9.9 billion on an organic basis. While it reported a net loss of $88 million due to a $1.0 billion impairment charge related to the divestiture of its TRANZACT business, the company's adjusted operating income climbed 14% and its adjusted operating margin improved by 190 basis points to 23.9%, driven by organic growth and transformation savings.
Looking ahead, WTW expects to deliver around 100 basis points of average annual margin expansion over the next three years in its Risk & Broking segment, with incremental margin expansion projected for its Health, Wealth & Career segment and at the enterprise level. The company attributed its strong performance to the successful completion of its "Grow, Simplify and Transform" strategy, which has streamlined operations and boosted efficiency.
"WTW is entering 2025 with considerable momentum after delivering on our 2024 financial targets through solid revenue growth, robust margin expansion and earnings growth," said CEO Carl Hess. "The successful completion of our Grow, Simplify and Transform strategy has primed all of our businesses to perform, and we are now stronger, more connected and more efficient than we have ever been."
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