Company Description
Loews Corporation (NYSE: L) is a diversified holding company with businesses in the insurance, energy, hospitality and packaging industries. The company is the ultimate parent of CNA Financial Corporation, Boardwalk Pipelines and Loews Hotels & Co, and it also has exposure to packaging through Altium Packaging, which is referenced in its segment reporting. Loews’ primary industry classification on Stock Titan is direct property and casualty insurance carriers within the broader finance and insurance sector, reflecting the importance of its insurance operations.
Business model and operating segments
Loews generates results through several reportable segments that correspond to its major subsidiaries and a corporate segment. In its financial highlights, Loews presents contributions from CNA Financial, Boardwalk Pipelines, Loews Hotels & Co and Corporate. CNA Financial is a publicly traded subsidiary (NYSE: CNA) in which Loews is described by AM Best as the diversified 92% shareholder ultimate parent. CNA focuses on commercial property and casualty insurance and related lines, and its results are a major driver of Loews’ consolidated insurance premiums, net investment income and insurance claims and policyholders’ benefits.
Boardwalk Pipelines contributes to Loews’ consolidated operating revenues and income through its natural gas and natural gas liquids transportation and storage activities. Loews’ disclosures highlight Boardwalk’s transportation revenues, storage and parking and lending revenues, and its revenue backlog associated with long-term contracts and growth projects. Loews Hotels & Co represents the hospitality segment, which includes owned and joint venture hotel interests, such as properties at the Universal Orlando Resort and the Loews Arlington Hotel and Convention Center. The corporate segment includes parent company investment income, interest expense, corporate expenses and equity income or loss from Altium Packaging, which is described as a joint venture in Loews’ tables and footnotes.
Insurance operations through CNA Financial
CNA Financial is identified in AM Best’s rating report as a group of property/casualty subsidiaries collectively known as CNA Insurance Companies, along with members of Western Surety Group. CNA’s ratings reflect balance sheet strength, operating performance, business profile and enterprise risk management. AM Best notes CNA’s consistently positive operating performance over a multi-year period, underpinned by commercial casualty underwriting and investment metrics. CNA’s commercial insurance operations are described as a significant source of profitability and internal capital generation for the CNA enterprise.
Within Loews’ own financial releases, CNA’s results are discussed in terms of net income attributable to Loews, core income, net written and earned premiums, catastrophe losses, and combined ratios for its property and casualty business. Loews explains that CNA uses non‑GAAP measures such as core income, underlying loss ratio and underlying combined ratio to evaluate its insurance operations. These measures adjust for investment gains and losses and certain pension settlement effects to focus on underlying insurance performance.
Energy operations through Boardwalk Pipelines
Boardwalk Pipelines is Loews’ energy and midstream natural gas and natural gas liquids business. In Loews’ segment disclosures, Boardwalk’s revenues and income before income tax are broken out separately, and management commentary attributes changes in Boardwalk’s net income and EBITDA to higher re‑contracting rates, recently completed growth projects, and increased storage and parking and lending revenues. Loews also provides information on Boardwalk’s growth projects and revenue backlog, including precedent agreements for additional pipeline capacity and associated contracted revenues, subject to regulatory approvals and permits.
Boardwalk’s activities are important to understanding Loews’ exposure to the energy infrastructure sector. The segment’s performance is discussed in terms of EBITDA and revenue backlog, which are non‑GAAP and operational metrics used by management to evaluate long‑term contracted cash flows and the impact of expansion projects on the business.
Hospitality operations through Loews Hotels & Co
Loews Hotels & Co is Loews’ hospitality business. In Loews’ financial releases, this segment’s performance is described using net income or net loss and Adjusted EBITDA. Loews attributes changes in Loews Hotels’ results to factors such as the opening of new hotels at the Universal Orlando Resort, changes in average daily rates and occupancy, renovations at specific properties, and interest and depreciation expense related to new properties. Loews also notes that Loews Hotels’ results can be affected by impairment charges recorded at joint venture hotels, which reduce equity income from those ventures.
These disclosures show that Loews Hotels & Co is managed with a focus on property‑level performance, joint venture contributions and capital investments in new or renovated hotels. Adjusted EBITDA is used as a non‑GAAP measure to evaluate the segment’s operating performance separate from certain non‑cash and non‑recurring items.
Packaging exposure through Altium Packaging
Loews’ packaging exposure is reflected through Altium Packaging, which appears in the corporate segment footnotes as part of “Other” corporate items, consisting of parent company interest expense, corporate expenses and the equity income or loss of Altium Packaging. In addition, Loews describes itself in multiple news releases as a diversified company with businesses in the packaging industry, alongside insurance, energy and hospitality. This indicates that, while packaging is not a separate reportable segment in Loews’ consolidated highlights, it is a recognized area of business activity within the broader corporate structure.
Corporate activities and capital allocation
The corporate segment of Loews includes investment income from the parent company trading portfolio, interest expense, corporate expenses and equity income or loss from Altium Packaging. Loews’ earnings releases discuss how changes in corporate segment results are driven by variations in investment income and other corporate‑level items. Loews also discloses share repurchase activity, noting the number of common shares repurchased and the total cost over specified periods, as well as the number of shares outstanding at period end. These disclosures illustrate Loews’ use of capital allocation tools such as share repurchases in addition to its operating segment investments.
Regulatory filings and listing information
Loews files periodic and current reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Recent Form 8‑K filings include disclosures about results of operations and financial condition, board composition changes and director elections. The filings confirm that Loews’ common stock, with a par value of $0.01 per share, trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol L. The company is not identified as an emerging growth company in these filings. Loews also uses its corporate website to post earnings remarks that accompany its press releases, as referenced in its 8‑K reports.
Legal and governance developments
Loews has been involved in litigation related to its acquisition of minority limited partner interests in its Boardwalk Pipelines subsidiary in 2018. A recent press release states that the Delaware Supreme Court issued a ruling addressing claims related to the underlying partnership agreement and remanding the issue of potential tortious interference liability to the Delaware Court of Chancery, while resolving other remaining claims in Loews’ favor. Earlier decisions in this litigation included an award by the Court of Chancery to former minority unitholders, a reversal by the Delaware Supreme Court and subsequent rulings on remanded claims. Loews’ commentary emphasizes its view of the process undertaken in the 2018 transaction and notes the extended duration of the litigation.
Corporate governance updates disclosed in Loews’ SEC filings and press releases include the election of new directors, changes in board size and planned retirements of long‑serving directors. For example, the board has elected directors such as Dino E. Robusto and Jennifer VanBelle, and has disclosed expected retirements of other directors at a future annual meeting, along with anticipated adjustments to the size of the board.
Credit ratings and external assessments
AM Best’s rating actions on CNA Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries highlight the relationship between Loews and its insurance operations. AM Best notes that CNA’s ratings acknowledge the historical financial support provided by its ultimate parent, Loews Corporation, and refer to Loews as a diversified shareholder. The rating agency also recognizes CNA’s risk‑adjusted capitalization, operating results and position in commercial and specialty lines, as well as the implicit and explicit financial and organizational support provided by Loews. These external assessments provide additional context for understanding Loews’ role as a parent company to a large insurance enterprise.
Position within the finance and insurance sector
On Stock Titan, Loews is categorized in the finance and insurance sector and the direct property and casualty insurance carriers industry, reflecting the central role of CNA Financial in its overall profile. At the same time, Loews’ disclosures consistently describe it as a diversified company with businesses in insurance, energy, hospitality and packaging. Investors and analysts reviewing Loews as a stock can therefore consider both its insurance‑centric classification and its broader exposure to energy infrastructure, hotels and packaging through its subsidiaries and investments.
FAQs about Loews Corporation
The following frequently asked questions summarize key aspects of Loews’ structure and operations based on its public disclosures.