Porto Seguro Surges 25%, Multiplan Hits Record Margins, BrasilAgro Stumbles: B3 Week 1 Beyond the Banks

*BrasilAgro reports on a crop-year fiscal calendar (Jul-Jun). 2T26 figure vs. prior-year loss of R$ 19M. USD at ~R$ 5.27. This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of Latin American markets and financial news.

Key Facts

— Porto Seguro’s profit surge was powered by diversification: Health (+23% revenue, 831k lives), Bank (+31% revenue, credit portfolio at R$ 23.5B) and Services (+42% profit) now represent 49% of total earnings, up 7 percentage points from a year ago.

— The ROE reached 24.4% in 4Q25, the best since 2015. For full-year 2025, the group posted R$ 3.4 billion ($645M) in net income, +28% year-on-year, with combined ROE of 22.7%.

Key Facts

— The headline profit drop is misleading — it stems entirely from higher debt costs after Multiplan’s R$ 2 billion ($380M) share buyback in late 2024, which roughly doubled net debt just as Selic climbed to 15%.

— Operationally, the story was pristine: EBITDA topped R$ 2 billion ($380M) for the first time ever (+8.4% for 2025), property expenses hit their lowest since 2015 (−32%), occupancy held at 96.6%, and same-store sales grew 4% even against a tough base. Lojist sales crossed R$ 25.9 billion ($4.9B) for the full year.

Key Facts

— The mid-market specialist quietly crossed the billion-real annual profit threshold for the first time. The 4Q25 result of R$ 275.5M ($52M) slightly beat Bloomberg consensus of R$ 274M, with ROAE improving to 16.3% from 15.2% a year earlier.

— Net interest income rose 14% to R$ 713M ($135M), while credit quality remained stable — expanded loan portfolio reached R$ 54.7B ($10.4B), +3% year-on-year, within the revised guidance range. The efficiency ratio held steady, reflecting disciplined cost management.

Key Facts

— Romi’s 4Q25 was a tale of two stories. Revenue fell 15.3% to R$ 388M ($74M) due to fewer foundry shipments and timing effects on B+W deliveries, dragging adjusted profit down 18%. But margins told a different story: gross margin expanded 1.9 percentage points to 32.1%.

— The consolidated order backlog hit an all-time high of R$ 750M ($142M), with the German subsidiary B+W’s pipeline alone surging 39% to R$ 495M ($94M). Full-year revenue rose 8.1% to R$ 1.33B ($252M), with international sales climbing to 35% of total.

Key Facts

— BrasilAgro continues to absorb the impact of a disappointing sugarcane season — cane revenue fell 31% in the first half of the crop year, hit by high canopy age, heat stress, drought, and frost damage. The quarterly profit of just R$ 2.5M ($0.5M) reversed the prior-year loss but offered little comfort, with first-half EBITDA down 23%.

— Bright spots included soy (+10%), corn (+81%) and cotton (+51%) revenue growth, plus a strategic decision to defer grain sales. The company projects 443,000 tons of grain/cotton output for the full crop year, +21% over the prior cycle.

The opening salvo of 4Q25 earnings season delivered a clear message: diversified business models and operational discipline are trumping headline profit numbers. Porto Seguro’s health and banking verticals now generate nearly half of group income, insulating it from auto insurance cyclicality. Multiplan posted record operating margins despite a 17.7% profit decline that was entirely self-inflicted through a well-timed buyback.

ABC Brasil quietly became a billion-real earner by staying boring. In all three cases, the companies that leaned into diversification, cost control, and patient capital allocation were rewarded.

The high Selic environment (15%) remains the dominant through-line. It compressed Multiplan’s FFO, it pressured Romi’s domestic order pipeline (machine-tool demand down 12.8% in 2025), and it inflated financial expenses across the board. But it also generated tailwinds — Porto Seguro’s treasury returns ran at 79% of CDI, and ABC Brasil’s net interest margin expanded 14%.

The winners this quarter were those who found ways to make 15% rates work for them rather than against them.

The week’s one genuinely troubled name — BrasilAgro — sits in a different category altogether. Its difficulties are crop-cycle and weather-driven, not macro-driven. XP called it “bitter harvest, sweet strategy,” noting the company is using distressed-seller dynamics in farmland to acquire cheaply while competitors struggle.

If the 25/26 grain season delivers on the +21% production target and the Selic cutting cycle eventually arrives, both the operating and financial lines should improve materially. Until then, the R$ 61.7M first-half loss weighs.