Münchener Rück AG

Munich Re's share has evolved from a defensive, COVID-affected insurer in 2020 into a highly profitable, dividend-rich compounder trading around the low-mid €500s by early 2026, with the latest price at 542 as of 21 February 2026. Over five years, the stock roughly doubled from the low-€200s range, hitting an all-time high above €600 before consolidating back into the 500s.

2019–early 2020: Late-cycle strength, then COVID shock

In 2019, Munich Re traded in the high-€200s, supported by solid earnings, strong solvency and the perception of a quality, dividend-paying reinsurer as the cycle matured. Into early 2020, shares approached multi-year highs around €300 before the COVID-19 market crash sent the stock toward the low-€200s amid pandemic-related claim fears and investment losses.

The stock was viewed as a steady, capital-disciplined value play with dependable dividends rather than a growth story. The COVID shock briefly reframed it as a cyclical financial with elevated loss uncertainty, though the underlying balance sheet remained strong.

Late 2019 into early 2020 showed a mature uptrend from roughly the low-€200s toward €300 before reversing. The COVID crash marked a violent breakdown with high volatility and a V-shaped rebound attempt later in 2020, though the stock remained well below pre-crisis highs for some time.

2021: Recovery and hardening reinsurance cycle

As pandemic impact became better quantified and reinsurance pricing "hardened," Munich Re reported improving results through 2021, with rising premium volumes and better visibility on COVID and natural catastrophe loss experience. The share price climbed back through the €250–€300 region and pushed higher as investors gained confidence in earnings normalization and capital returns.

The market increasingly viewed Munich Re as a recovery and capital-return story, benefiting from better pricing in property-catastrophe and specialty lines. Investors focused on yield plus moderate growth; the stock began to regain its reputation as a "defensive compounder" within European financials.

2021 saw a sustained uptrend with higher highs and higher lows from the post-COVID base in the low-€200s up toward the €300s region. Breaks above prior resistance around the high-€200s confirmed a medium-term bullish trend, with only moderate corrections on interim risk-off days.

2022: Macro stress, war in Ukraine, and skepticism

2022 brought macro shocks: Russia's invasion of Ukraine, surging inflation, rising interest rates and elevated catastrophe activity, which complicated earnings. Credit Suisse maintained an "Underperform" rating repeatedly in 2022, signaling persistent sell-side skepticism around earnings quality and catastrophe-loss risk.

The stock shifted toward a "solid but questioned" value name, with investors debating whether rising rates and reinsurance pricing offset geopolitical and natural catastrophe risks. Concerns over potential large-loss events, inflation in claims and asset-side volatility led to cautious positioning from some analysts despite the company's reiterations of disciplined risk management.

Price action in 2022 was choppy and range-bound, with the stock oscillating but not yet entering the powerful uptrend that would emerge later. Attempts to break convincingly to new highs failed, and the chart spent extended periods consolidating, reflecting the mixed macro and sector backdrop.

2023–2024: Profit boom, dividend step-up, and re-rating

By 2023, Munich Re's earnings strongly improved, with reported earnings per share around €33.88 for 2023 and rising to approximately €42.78 in 2024. The dividend was raised from €15 in 2023 to €20 in 2024, reinforcing robust capital generation and confidence in sustainable cash returns, supporting a yield around 4%.

The narrative tilted decisively toward a high-quality, inflation-resilient compounder, with investors emphasizing capital discipline, strong solvency ratios and growing shareholder payouts. With valuation metrics such as P/E around the low-teens and views of the shares as "strongly undervalued" by some fundamental screens, many investors saw it as a rare mix of yield and growth.

Over the trailing three to five years, the stock rose from roughly the low-€200s to peaks around €615, representing more than a doubling in price. The 2023–2024 period contained a clear strong uptrend, with the one-year and five-year high near €615, followed by consolidation off the peak while preserving a higher-high structure versus prior years.

2025–early 2026: All-time highs, consolidation, and quality status

In 2025 the stock set new all-time highs around €615–€616, with year-to-date performance at one point above +12%, before easing back as the market digested strong prior gains. Half-year and Q3 2025 results showed continued solid sales and net income, with Munich Re maintaining attractive yield expectations for 2025–2026, with consensus implying dividends above €22 per share and P/E ratios around 11x.

By late 2025 and into early 2026, investor perception centered on Munich Re as a low-risk, high-quality compounder: fundamental screens rate the shares as "strongly undervalued," and 180-day volatility sits in the high-teens, modest for an equity. Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with several "Buy/Overweight" calls from major brokers and some neutral ratings, reflecting confidence in earnings durability alongside awareness of reinsurance cycle risks after a large run-up.

After topping near €615, the stock entered a consolidation range across the mid-€500s, with six-month performance slightly negative but still up strongly over 2–3 years. The price around 542 on 21 February 2026 sits well above the 2-year level in the low-€400s and the 3-year level near €330, indicating a higher plateau with the prior breakout zone in the low-€400s now acting as major long-term support.