Tearsheet

Bowhead Specialty (BOW)


Market Price (12/25/2025): $28.67 | Market Cap: $939.9 Mil
Sector: Financials | Industry: Property & Casualty Insurance

Bowhead Specialty (BOW)


Market Price (12/25/2025): $28.67
Market Cap: $939.9 Mil
Sector: Financials
Industry: Property & Casualty Insurance

Investment Highlights Why It Matters Detailed financial logic regarding cash flow yields vs trend-riding momentum.


0 Attractive yield
Total YieldTotal Yield = Earnings Yield + Dividend Yield, Earnings Yield = Net Income / Market Cap Dividend Yield = Total Dividends / Market Cap is 5.6%, FCF Yield is 35%
Key risks
BOW key risks include [1] potential under-reserving in its underdeveloped, Show more.
1 Cash is significant % of market cap
Net D/ENet Debt/Equity. Debt net of cash. Negative indicates net cash. Equity is taken as the Market Capitalization is -90%
 
2 Strong revenue growth
Rev Chg LTMRevenue Change % Last Twelve Months (LTM) is 33%
 
3 Attractive cash flow generation
CFO/Rev LTMCash Flow from Operations / Revenue (Sales), Last Twelve Months (LTM) is 64%, FCF/Rev LTMFree Cash Flow / Revenue (Sales), Last Twelve Months (LTM) is 63%
 
4 Valuation becoming less expensive
P/S 6M Chg %Price/Sales change over 6 months. Declining P/S indicates valuation has become less expensive. is -27%
 
5 Low stock price volatility
Vol 12M is 35%
 
6 Megatrend and thematic drivers
Megatrends include Insurance Innovation & Risk Management. Themes include Specialty Underwriting, Insurtech Adoption, and Emerging Risk Coverage.
 
0 Attractive yield
Total YieldTotal Yield = Earnings Yield + Dividend Yield, Earnings Yield = Net Income / Market Cap Dividend Yield = Total Dividends / Market Cap is 5.6%, FCF Yield is 35%
1 Cash is significant % of market cap
Net D/ENet Debt/Equity. Debt net of cash. Negative indicates net cash. Equity is taken as the Market Capitalization is -90%
2 Strong revenue growth
Rev Chg LTMRevenue Change % Last Twelve Months (LTM) is 33%
3 Attractive cash flow generation
CFO/Rev LTMCash Flow from Operations / Revenue (Sales), Last Twelve Months (LTM) is 64%, FCF/Rev LTMFree Cash Flow / Revenue (Sales), Last Twelve Months (LTM) is 63%
4 Valuation becoming less expensive
P/S 6M Chg %Price/Sales change over 6 months. Declining P/S indicates valuation has become less expensive. is -27%
5 Low stock price volatility
Vol 12M is 35%
6 Megatrend and thematic drivers
Megatrends include Insurance Innovation & Risk Management. Themes include Specialty Underwriting, Insurtech Adoption, and Emerging Risk Coverage.
7 Key risks
BOW key risks include [1] potential under-reserving in its underdeveloped, Show more.

Valuation, Metrics & Events

BOW Stock


Why The Stock Moved


Qualitative Assessment

AI Analysis | Feedback

Here are the key points for why Bowhead Specialty's stock (BOW) moved by -7.7% from approximately August 31, 2025, to December 25, 2025:

1. Slower Growth Rate in Q3 2025: While Bowhead Specialty reported a 17.5% increase in gross written premiums for Q3 2025, this represented a slower growth rate compared to its year-to-date performance. Similarly, net income growth for the quarter at 25.5% lagged the 58% year-to-date growth, indicating a deceleration that concerned investors.

2. Increase in Loss Ratio: The company's loss ratio increased to 65.9% in the third quarter of 2025 from 64.5% in the same period of 2024, contributing to a higher combined ratio of 95.4%. An increasing loss ratio suggests that a larger portion of premiums are being paid out in claims, which can impact profitability.

Show more

Stock Movement Drivers

Fundamental Drivers

The 3.4% change in BOW stock from 9/24/2025 to 12/24/2025 was primarily driven by a 5.5% change in the company's Total Revenues ($ Mil).
924202512242025Change
Stock Price ($)27.7328.673.39%
Change Contribution ByLTMLTM
Total Revenues ($ Mil)492.00519.175.52%
Net Income Margin (%)10.05%10.12%0.67%
P/E Multiple18.3417.89-2.50%
Shares Outstanding (Mil)32.7232.78-0.19%
Cumulative Contribution3.39%

LTM = Last Twelve Months as of date shown

Market Drivers

9/24/2025 to 12/24/2025
ReturnCorrelation
BOW3.4% 
Market (SPY)4.4%5.7%
Sector (XLF)4.0%29.8%

Fundamental Drivers

The -20.6% change in BOW stock from 6/25/2025 to 12/24/2025 was primarily driven by a -35.3% change in the company's P/E Multiple.
625202512242025Change
Stock Price ($)36.1128.67-20.60%
Change Contribution ByLTMLTM
Total Revenues ($ Mil)457.72519.1713.43%
Net Income Margin (%)9.32%10.12%8.61%
P/E Multiple27.6517.89-35.32%
Shares Outstanding (Mil)32.6632.78-0.37%
Cumulative Contribution-20.60%

LTM = Last Twelve Months as of date shown

Market Drivers

6/25/2025 to 12/24/2025
ReturnCorrelation
BOW-20.6% 
Market (SPY)14.0%11.2%
Sector (XLF)8.8%34.7%

Fundamental Drivers

The -17.6% change in BOW stock from 12/24/2024 to 12/24/2025 was primarily driven by a -4.0% change in the company's Shares Outstanding (Mil).
1224202412242025Change
Stock Price ($)34.8028.67-17.61%
Change Contribution ByLTMLTM
Total Revenues ($ Mil)519.17
Net Income Margin (%)10.12%
P/E Multiple17.89
Shares Outstanding (Mil)31.5332.78-3.97%
Cumulative Contribution

LTM = Last Twelve Months as of date shown

Market Drivers

12/24/2024 to 12/24/2025
ReturnCorrelation
BOW-17.6% 
Market (SPY)15.8%22.3%
Sector (XLF)14.9%38.6%

Fundamental Drivers

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Market Drivers

12/25/2023 to 12/24/2025
ReturnCorrelation
BOW  
Market (SPY)48.9%21.9%
Sector (XLF)53.2%35.6%

Return vs. Risk


Price Returns Compared

 202020212022202320242025Total [1]
Returns
BOW Return-19%-19%
Peers Return20%5%
S&P 500 Return16%27%-19%24%23%18%115%

Monthly Win Rates [3]
BOW Win Rate57%42% 
Peers Win Rate56%60%52% 
S&P 500 Win Rate58%75%42%67%75%73% 

Max Drawdowns [4]
BOW Max Drawdown-33% 
Peers Max Drawdown-13%-20% 
S&P 500 Max Drawdown-31%-1%-25%-1%-2%-15% 


[1] Cumulative total returns since the beginning of 2020
[2] Peers: KNSL, SKWD, RLI, JRVR, WRB.
[3] Win Rate = % of calendar months in which monthly returns were positive
[4] Max drawdown represents maximum peak-to-trough decline within a year
[5] 2025 data is for the year up to 12/24/2025 (YTD)

How Low Can It Go

BOW has limited trading history. Below is the Financials sector ETF (XLF) in its place.

Unique KeyEventXLFS&P 500
2022 Inflation Shock2022 Inflation Shock  
2022 Inflation Shock% Loss% Loss-26.9%-25.4%
2022 Inflation Shock% Gain to Breakeven% Gain to Breakeven36.7%34.1%
2022 Inflation ShockTime to BreakevenTime to Breakeven525 days464 days
2020 Covid Pandemic2020 Covid Pandemic  
2020 Covid Pandemic% Loss% Loss-43.3%-33.9%
2020 Covid Pandemic% Gain to Breakeven% Gain to Breakeven76.5%51.3%
2020 Covid PandemicTime to BreakevenTime to Breakeven295 days148 days
2018 Correction2018 Correction  
2018 Correction% Loss% Loss-26.1%-19.8%
2018 Correction% Gain to Breakeven% Gain to Breakeven35.2%24.7%
2018 CorrectionTime to BreakevenTime to Breakeven338 days120 days
2008 Global Financial Crisis2008 Global Financial Crisis  
2008 Global Financial Crisis% Loss% Loss-83.7%-56.8%
2008 Global Financial Crisis% Gain to Breakeven% Gain to Breakeven515.2%131.3%
2008 Global Financial CrisisTime to BreakevenTime to Breakeven4,470 days1,480 days

Compare to

In The Past

SPDR Select Sector Fund's stock fell -26.9% during the 2022 Inflation Shock from a high on 1/12/2022. A -26.9% loss requires a 36.7% gain to breakeven.

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About Bowhead Specialty (BOW)

We are a profitable and growing company providing specialty P&C products. We were founded by industry veteran Stephen Sills and are led by a highly experienced and respected underwriting team with decades of individual, successful underwriting experience. We focus on providing “craft” solutions in our specialty lines and classes of business that we believe require deep underwriting and claims expertise in order to produce attractive financial results. We have initially focused on underwriting Casualty, Professional Liability and Healthcare risks where our management team has deep experience. Across our underwriting divisions, our policyholders vary in size, industry and complexity and require specialized, innovative and customized solutions where we individually underwrite and structure policies for each account. As a result, our products are primarily written on an E&S basis, where we have flexibility of rate and policy form. Our underwriting teams collaborate across our claims, actuarial and legal departments, ensuring they are aware of developments that could impact our business and using a consistent approach to our underwriting. We handle our claims in-house; our claims management teams, which align with our three underwriting divisions, have significant experience in the markets on which we focus and work closely with our underwriting and actuarial teams, keeping them informed of claims trends, providing feedback on emerging areas of loss experience and identifying and addressing key issues and adjusting loss reserves as appropriate. We distribute our products through carefully selected relationships with leading distribution partners in both the wholesale and retail markets. We pride ourselves on the quality and experience of our people, who are committed to exceeding our partners’ expectations through excellent service and expertise. Our collaborative culture spans all functions of our business and allows us to provide a consistent, positive experience for all of our partners. This consistency of experience, combined with our client-focused approach, has created a company with which our distribution partners want to work, supporting the continued growth of our platform. Our principal objective is to create and sustain superior returns for our stockholders by generating consistent underwriting profits across our product lines and through all market cycles, while prudently managing capital. We have grown substantially over the past two years, generating gross written premiums of $356.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 and $507.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, a year-over-year increase of 42.2%. For the year ended December 31, 2023, we delivered a combined ratio of 95.0%, net income of $25.0 million and a return on equity of 18.2%. We have generated gross written premiums of $95.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and $138.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, a year-over-year increase of 44.6%. For the three months ended March 31, 2024, we delivered a combined ratio of 98.1%, net income of $7.0 million and a return on equity (annualized) of 14.3%. We believe that our current market opportunity, differentiated expertise, relationships, culture and leadership team position us well to continue to grow our business profitably. BICI is domiciled and licensed as an admitted insurer in the state of Wisconsin. BSUI is a licensed business entity producer, domiciled as an insurance producer and an MGA in the state of Texas, and a licensed agency in all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. BSUI does business as “Bowhead Specialty Insurance Services” in California, Illinois, Nevada, New York, Utah and Virginia. Our ability to write business, however, is currently largely based on our relationship with AmFam. Through our relationship with AmFam, we are able to write business on an admitted basis in all 50 states and Washington D.C. and on a non-admitted basis in all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. As of March 31, 2024, there were five states in which 5.0% or more of our gross written premiums were concentrated: California (17.0%), Florida (12.5%), Texas (9.5%), New York (7.9%) and Ohio (5.3%). We founded our business in September 2020, recognizing a favorable pricing environment and a growing and unmet demand from brokers and policyholders for craft solutions and quality service in complex lines of business. We built a nimble, remote-friendly organization able to attract best-in-class talent that we source nationwide to service this demand, with 216 employees as of March 31, 2024 across the country who are committed to operational excellence and superior service. We are backed by capital provided by GPC Fund and our strategic partner, AmFam, a mutual insurer with an “A” (Excellent) financial strength rating from A.M. Best as of March 31, 2024 and approximately $7.0 billion of policyholder surplus as of December 31, 2023. We originate business on the paper of AmFam through BSUI writing policies issued by AmFam under the name of AmFam and reinsure 100.0% of the insurance business we originate to BICI, our wholly-owned insurance company subsidiary. Our partnership with AmFam has enabled us to grow quickly but prudently, deploying capital and adding employees when business and growth justified. We currently offer craft solutions to a wide variety of businesses across three underwriting divisions: Casualty, Professional Liability and Healthcare. --- We take a highly collaborative and customized approach to underwriting. Our fully integrated and accountable underwriting methodology brings the specialized industry knowledge, business acumen and strong distribution relationships that we believe are required to profitably underwrite the complex lines of business on which we focus. Our underwriting teams all have deep underwriting and industry experience in the lines of business we write. We aim to offer craft solutions to our clients in a timely and consistent manner. We underwrite, structure and price quotes on a case-by-case basis while maintaining disciplined risk parameters including strict policy limits. We have developed and constantly evaluate our risk framework with significant input from our actuarial, claims, legal and finance functions. Similarly, we frequently hold “roundtable” discussions, which are a key part of our underwriting process, and depending on the risk, can occur at multiple levels across the company, often involving functions outside of underwriting teams, including actuarial, claims, legal and finance. Roundtables allow our underwriters to leverage appropriate expertise across the organization; our culture of collaboration and accountability means that underwriting decisions are not made in isolation, allowing us to deliver consistent underwriting decisions with input from multiple perspectives. Casualty: Our Casualty division provides tailored solutions on a primary and excess basis through a wholesale-only distribution channel and consists of a team of experienced underwriters with nationwide capabilities who excel at handling complex risks. We specialize in GL coverage for risks in the construction, distribution, heavy manufacturing, real estate and hospitality segments and also consider underwriting risks in a broader range of industries. Within these industries, we seek to identify specific segments that play to our strengths and in which we believe we can generate profitable growth. For example, within construction, a $2.4 trillion industry in the U.S. as of December 31, 2023 according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, we seek to participate in large, complex and engineered construction projects. Product Description Distribution Excess Projects • Offers excess coverage to large commercial • E&S products distributed by general contractors or developers on single wholesale brokers commercial, residential and infrastructure projects Excess Practice • Offers annually renewable excess coverage • E&S products distributed by for GL, Product Liability and Auto Liability wholesale brokers to middle market contractors (typically from $100 million to $1 billion in revenue) nationally Excess Other • Offers annually renewable first excess, or • Primarily E&S products higher excess, coverage to real estate, distributed by wholesale brokers hospitality, public entity or manufacturing companies Primary Projects • Offers wrap-up GL coverage to large general • E&S products distributed by contractors and developers on single wholesale brokers commercial and residential projects Primary Practice • Offers annually renewable GL coverage to • E&S products distributed by middle market (under $100 million in wholesale brokers revenue) general contractors and subcontractors Primary Other • Offers GL coverage to middle market (under • E&S products distributed by $200 million in revenue) commercial and wholesale brokers industrial manufacturers and distributors Professional Liability: Our Professional Liability division provides underwriting solutions on both an admitted and E&S basis for standard and nonstandard risks and writes for a broad variety of entities, including publicly traded and privately held FIs as well as not-for-profit organizations. We distribute this business through wholesale and retail channels. The Professional Liability market, in general, is highly competitive; however, we believe that there are specific sub-markets, including in FI, private D&O and E&O, that have attractive growth and return potential. Additionally, we selectively pursue exposures in small and middle market public D&O where we believe pricing remains favorable and view Cyber and Technology E&O as a significant growth opportunity where we are developing primary capabilities to target smaller accounts that we believe are experiencing less rate pressure compared with larger accounts. Product Description Distribution FI • Offers suite of management liability • Primarily admitted products products including D&O, E&O, EPL, Fiduciary, mostly distributed by retail Fidelity and related lines to asset and agents investment management companies, banks and lenders, insurance companies and emerging FI companies including specialty niches • Also offers primary coverage for specific FI segments, including investment management, on a manuscript basis Public D&O • Offers primary and excess coverage to • Primarily admitted products public companies of all sizes in a wide mostly distributed by retail agents variety of sectors • Also offers Excess Fiduciary and EPL coverage Private D&O • Offers D&O, EPL, Fiduciary and Crime • Primarily admitted products coverage in a package policy with separate mostly distributed by retail or shared limits to private and agents not-for-profit entities E&O (includes MPL • Offers Primary and Excess Miscellaneous E&O • Primarily E&S products, mostly and Lawyers) coverage to approximately 40 classes of distributed by wholesale brokers businesses, including property managers, developers and construction management, associations, franchisors and consultants • Also offers Excess Lawyers Professional Liability coverage to law firms up to 100 attorneys Cyber • Offers Excess follow-form Cyber and • E&S products mostly distributed Technology E&O Liability coverage to middle by retail agents market and large corporate organizations Healthcare: Focusing exclusively on healthcare entities, our Healthcare division provides tailored solutions for nonstandard risks faced by healthcare organizations on both a primary and excess basis. We offer PL/GL, as well as Management Liability, across four major healthcare segments—hospitals, senior care providers, managed care organizations and miscellaneous medical facilities—through select wholesale and retail channels. Within Healthcare, we have seen rate increases for several years starting initially with Senior Care followed by Managed Care and more recently in the Hospitals segment. We believe these rate increases were the result of carriers restricting their underwriting appetite following increases in both the frequency and severity of claims caused both by inadequate pricing and outsized settlements and jury verdicts (sometimes referred to as “social inflation”). We aim to expand our Healthcare business meaningfully with sophisticated hospital buyers for which we believe we have differentiated underwriting expertise and claims handling capabilities, with large senior care facilities in a segment that continues to grow alongside population demographics, in the specialized Managed Care E&O marketplace where we believe we have limited competition and in other specialized markets within the healthcare sector where we anticipate profitable growth opportunities. Product Description Distribution Hospitals • Offers excess Healthcare PL/GL coverage to • E&S products distributed mostly hospitals on an insurance or facultative by retail brokers reinsurance basis Senior Care • Offers Healthcare PL/GL coverage to • E&S products distributed by skilled care, assisted living, independent wholesale and retail brokers living and continuing care retirement community facilities • Considers traditional structures as well as alternative solutions Managed Care • Offers Managed Care E&O coverage to • E&S products distributed by various classes of managed care providers wholesale and retail brokers and payors MMF • Offers Healthcare PL/GL coverage to • E&S products mostly distributed outpatient medical facilities by wholesale and retail brokers • Considers traditional structures as well as alternative solutions HCML • Offers primary and excess D&O, EPL, • Primarily admitted products Fiduciary and Crime coverage to all classes distributed by wholesale and listed above, including through a package retail brokers policy with separate or shared limits Although the products we underwrite do not directly cover physical damage, we offer liability coverage which may include liability resulting from physical damage. For example, we may provide a policy insuring a builder of a building and if a building built by the builder collapses, our policy may cover losses if the builder’s acts or omissions caused the collapse of the building, which could include liability for physical damages to individuals resulting from the collapse of the building or costs of repairs or rebuilding. However, we do not currently offer property coverage and thus do not currently provide coverage for direct physical damage. We offer small limits as part of our Senior Care business in the event a senior care facility must be shut down due to certain events which could include physical damage to the senior care facility. --- Because our clients often require highly customized solutions not available in the admitted market, our business is primarily written on an E&S basis. This approach allows us to maximize our policy flexibility and meet our policyholders’ unique needs all while delivering the differentiated level of service and execution for which we have developed a reputation. We see an opportunity to underwrite an attractive range of risks in a sustainable and profitable manner and seek to employ underwriters with the technical expertise to structure terms and conditions and prudently manage risks across such lines of business. We execute this approach through thoughtful and careful risk selection and limit deployment while seeking to optimize our results. We aim to take advantage of a market that continues to grow as businesses and risks continue to evolve. We believe that our remote-friendly platform enables us to scale our capabilities nimbly within lines of business that we feel align with our expertise, goals and risk appetite. We believe that this approach is a key differentiator in positioning us to grow profitably across market cycles in each of our core competencies. We are able to deliver mutually beneficial and bespoke solutions thanks to the deep, longstanding wholesale and retail distribution relationships that our underwriters have established. We go to market under the Bowhead brand, leveraging the strong reputation that we have quickly established within the broker community. We distribute our products through a network of wholesale and retail broker organizations utilizing different channels and relationships across our three underwriting divisions. In Casualty, we focus on partnering with wholesale distributors, whereas in Professional Liability and Healthcare, we work with a combination of wholesale and retail partners. We source our broker relationships based on quality of business and reputation and alignment of long-term objectives. We strive to maintain a core group of brokers that consider us to be their “first call.” We take a deliberate approach to building our broker network and actively evaluate new and existing broker relationships based on the opportunities we see and choose to pursue in the market. We handle our claims in-house, which we believe to be a key competitive differentiator. Aligning with our underwriting focus on specific product lines, our claims management teams are highly specialized to ensure that they can apply their expertise in handling claims to each market we serve. As part of our collaborative approach, our claims teams frequently participate in underwriting discussions, both internally and with our distribution partners and policyholders. We believe maintaining full control of the claims-handling process allows us to meet our rigorous quality standards and manage our losses and LAE effectively, and ultimately leads to more profitable underwriting. We have a remote-friendly operating model with most employees working remotely supplemented by targeted, in-person collaboration. We formed our company during COVID-19 mandated lockdowns, which initially required us to be 100% remote. Our management team built our company’s operating platform and developed its culture from the beginning to function nimbly in a hybrid environment. This approach has enabled us to recruit talented employees nationwide without regard for Bowhead-specific office locations. We use frequent video calls to collaborate throughout the day and hold a weekly company-wide call to align on short- and long-term goals. We encourage employees near our New York City and Chicago offices to work in the office on Wednesdays and use off-site meetings and conferences to get broader groups of employees together in person throughout the year. We believe our hybrid operating model is a competitive advantage in terms of attracting talent and maintaining our collaborative culture. Unlike other insurance companies that are trying to bring employees back to the office or learning to operate in a hybrid environment, our remote-friendly operating model is an innate part of our culture and a meaningful contributor to our success. Our nimble business model enables us to leverage technology, data and analytics efficiently throughout each stage of the underwriting process. Our modern, cloud-based technology platform enables us to leverage technology that we have created in-house and by using leading third-party solutions. We have developed proprietary underwriting tools, BRATs, for the lines in which we write business, and which are further supplemented with customized third-party data. Our technology investments focus on development and integration of data, while our technology tools allow us to understand the underlying risks for each line of business, enabling us to provide rapid feedback to brokers on structure and price. We believe in the profitability of the business we write, and consequently look to retain as much of that premium as possible while maintaining strict risk limits. We strategically purchase reinsurance through pro rata and excess of loss reinsurance agreements on a treaty or facultative basis with a goal of protecting our capital and minimizing volatility in our earnings from severity events. We focus on a diversified panel of high-quality reinsurance partners. As of March 31, 2024, 100.0% of our reinsurance recoverables were derived from reinsurers with an “A” (Excellent) financial strength rating from A.M. Best, or better. Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. was incorporated in Delaware in May 2021. Our principal offices are located at 1411 Broadway, Suite 3800, New York, NY.

AI Analysis | Feedback

Here are 1-2 brief analogies for Bowhead Specialty (BOW):

  • Bowhead Specialty is like Chubb, but exclusively for highly specialized and non-standard business insurance.
  • Bowhead Specialty is like AIG, but solely focused on unique and complex commercial risks that often don't fit traditional insurance markets.

AI Analysis | Feedback

Bowhead Specialty Major Products/Services

  • Commercial Property Insurance: Provides coverage for physical damage to commercial properties and their contents against specified perils.
  • Commercial General Liability (CGL) Insurance: Offers protection against claims of bodily injury or property damage for which the insured is legally liable.
  • Professional Liability/Errors & Omissions (E&O) Insurance: Covers financial losses resulting from alleged errors, omissions, or negligence in professional services.
  • Directors & Officers (D&O) Insurance: Protects company leaders from liability claims arising from their management decisions and actions.
  • Cyber Liability Insurance: Shields businesses from financial losses and expenses related to data breaches, cyber attacks, and other cyber incidents.

AI Analysis | Feedback

Bowhead Specialty (BOW) operates as an Excess and Surplus (E&S) lines insurance carrier. Its business model involves distributing its insurance products exclusively through wholesale insurance brokers, rather than directly to insured individuals or companies.

Therefore, Bowhead Specialty's primary customers are wholesale insurance brokerage firms. While the company stated in its S-1 filing that it expects to develop relationships with a limited number of leading wholesale brokers and that no single wholesale broker will account for more than 10% of its gross written premiums during its early operating periods, the following are examples of major companies in the wholesale insurance brokerage sector that represent the type of firms Bowhead Specialty partners with:

  • Ryan Specialty Group Holdings, Inc. (which includes RT Specialty) (NYSE: RYAN)
  • Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE: BRO)
  • Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG)
  • Amwins Group, Inc. (a leading private wholesale broker)
  • CRC Group (a division of Truist Insurance Holdings, a subsidiary of Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE: TFC))

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Stephen Sills, Chief Executive Officer, President, and Founder

Stephen Sills founded Bowhead Specialty in September 2020. Prior to that, he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CapSpecialty and Professional Risk Management Services, Inc. from 2013 through 2019. Mr. Sills also founded Darwin Professional Underwriters in 2003, serving as its Chairman, President, and CEO until 2008. Before Darwin, he founded Executive Risk in 1987, where he was Chief Underwriting Officer and later Chief Executive Officer until its sale to the Chubb Corporation in 1999. After the acquisition, he was an Executive Vice President of Chubb until 2001. Executive Risk was a joint venture backed by Aetna and various private equity groups. After retiring from CapSpecialty in 2019, he co-founded Bowhead with Matt Botein, a co-founder of Gallatin Point, a private investment firm, and American Family, indicating a pattern of managing companies backed by private equity.

Brad Mulcahey, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer

Brad Mulcahey has served as Bowhead Specialty’s Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since September 2022. Before joining Bowhead, he was the Chief Financial Officer at Berkley Select, a division of W.R. Berkley Corp, from October 2021 to September 2022. From May 2015 to April 2019, Mr. Mulcahey was the Controller of JLT Specialty USA. Following JLT's acquisition by Marsh & McLennan Companies, he served as a Senior Vice President, Finance with Marsh Canada Ltd.

David Newman, Chief Underwriting Officer

David Newman has been the Chief Underwriting Officer of Bowhead Specialty since January 2024, having previously served as Chief Underwriter from October 2020 to December 2023. His career also includes various roles at Allied World from 2008 to June 2016, including Chief Underwriting Officer of the Global Markets division. Prior to Allied World's acquisition of Darwin in 2008, Mr. Newman was Darwin's Chief Underwriting Officer from 2003 to 2008.

Steven Feltner, Chief Operating Officer

Steven Feltner brings over 12 years of experience in the insurance industry, specializing in financial planning and analysis, tactical reporting, and strategy. As Chief Operating Officer, he collaborates with leaders across underwriting divisions and functional areas to advance strategic planning and enterprise optimization, focusing on initiatives like automation and workflow optimization to improve efficiency.

Shirley Yap, Chief Accounting Officer & Head of Investor Relations

Shirley Yap is an experienced finance professional within the insurance sector. Her background includes several key positions at Axis Capital, where she ultimately became the Head of Risk Funding. Ms. Yap is recognized for her technical proficiency and strategic insight in financial leadership.

AI Analysis | Feedback

The key risks to Bowhead Specialty (BOW) primarily revolve around its underwriting reserves and its specialized business focus.

  1. Reserve Adequacy and Adverse Prior Year Development: A significant risk for Bowhead Specialty is the uncertainty surrounding the adequacy of its underwriting reserves and the potential for adverse prior year development. Given that Bowhead began its underwriting business in 2020, there are signs of loss underestimation in recent accident years (2021, 2022, and 2023), which are still "under-developed" due to the long-tail nature of its casualty book of business. This raises concerns about future profitability, as the average claim for Bowhead's type of business may not be finalized for several years, leaving risk for further deterioration in prior years' results.
  2. Limited Diversification and Exposure to Specialty Market Conditions: Bowhead Specialty's business model is concentrated on specialty casualty insurance lines, which, while allowing it to capitalize on specific market segments, also leads to limited diversification. This focus means the company's performance is highly dependent on conditions within the specialty casualty insurance market. While this has been favorable during "hard market" conditions characterized by strong premium rate increases, a shift to a "soft market" could negatively impact underwriting margins. The observed "undisciplined behavior" in the professional liability segment outside of cyber risks also highlights the vulnerabilities within its specialized focus.

AI Analysis | Feedback

The primary clear emerging threat for Bowhead Specialty (BOW) is the rise of **advanced AI and machine learning-driven underwriting and risk mitigation platforms, particularly from specialized insurtechs.** These platforms leverage vast datasets, real-time telemetry, and predictive analytics to assess, price, and even proactively mitigate complex specialty risks (e.g., cyber, professional lines) with potentially greater accuracy and efficiency than traditional human-led underwriting. Companies utilizing these technologies can achieve superior risk selection, more competitive pricing, and lower loss ratios, akin to how Netflix's streaming model fundamentally outperformed Blockbuster's physical distribution. As these technologies mature and gain wider adoption, they could disrupt Bowhead's traditional underwriting processes, making them less competitive and potentially eroding market share in key specialty segments.

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The addressable market for Bowhead Specialty (symbol: BOW) primarily lies within the U.S. excess and surplus (E&S) lines insurance market.

The total U.S. surplus lines industry was estimated to be approximately $134 billion for 2024. This figure includes business written by both U.S. domestic E&S underwriting and companies domiciled outside the U.S. In 2023, the U.S. E&S direct premiums written reached $86.47 billion.

Bowhead Specialty provides casualty, professional liability, and healthcare liability insurance products, primarily on a non-admitted or E&S basis in the United States.

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Bowhead Specialty (BOW) is anticipated to drive future revenue growth over the next 2-3 years through several key strategies and market dynamics:

  1. Expansion in Excess Casualty Business: Bowhead Specialty expects its Casualty division, particularly the excess casualty business, to continue driving significant growth. CEO Stephen Sills highlighted this as the most favorable segment in the current marketplace, with the excess casualty book being a primary contributor to recent growth.
  2. Growth of Technology-Driven Underwriting (Baleen) and Operational Efficiencies: The company is leveraging its "flow" underwriting operation, Baleen, which is a streamlined, tech-enabled approach focusing on small, niche, and hard-to-place risks. Baleen has shown impressive premium growth, and the company plans to continue investing in technology to automate underwriting, scale operations, and expand its reach in small business and cyber liability with minimal added headcount. These technological advancements are also expected to improve the expense ratio and support profitable growth.
  3. Increase in Net Investment Income: Bowhead Specialty anticipates continued growth in its net investment income. This growth is primarily driven by a larger balance of investments and higher yields on invested assets, a trend that has already shown significant year-over-year increases. The company expects this income stream to expand as its overall investment portfolio grows.
  4. Strategic Expansion in Specialty Lines and New Product Exploration: While maintaining a disciplined approach, Bowhead Specialty is strategically expanding within its specialty lines, such as healthcare liability and cyber liability. Management also indicated plans to explore potential expansion into new product lines, alongside leveraging debt capacity for additional capital to support growth, rather than equity markets. This selective focus allows the company to capitalize on favorable market conditions in specific segments.
  5. Disciplined Underwriting and Risk Selection: A foundational driver for sustainable and profitable revenue growth is Bowhead's disciplined underwriting approach and selective risk-taking. The company emphasizes avoiding underpriced segments and focusing on areas that require deep underwriting and claims expertise. This strategy enables them to maintain earnings quality and achieve consistent growth while navigating competitive market conditions.

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Share Repurchases

  • The company made share repurchases totaling $25 million in fiscal year 2022.
  • No share repurchases were reported by the company for fiscal year 2023, fiscal year 2024, or the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2025.

Share Issuance

  • In May 2024, Bowhead Specialty completed an upsized initial public offering (IPO), selling 7,529,412 shares of its common stock at $17.00 per share, raising aggregate gross proceeds of $128.0 million.
  • As of September 30, 2025, the company had 32,782,974 shares issued and outstanding, an increase from 32,662,683 shares at December 31, 2024.
  • In June 2025, the company filed for a $300 million mixed securities shelf offering, providing flexibility to issue various types of securities to raise capital for future growth initiatives.

Capital Expenditures

  • Capital expenditures were reported as -$3.97 million in fiscal year 2022, -$3.82 million in fiscal year 2023, -$3.11 million in fiscal year 2024, and -$4.31 million for the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2025.
  • The primary focus of capital expenditures over the past 18 months has been on technology investments in core functions, aimed at improving the operating expense ratio and enabling efficient scaling of the business.

Trade Ideas

Select ideas related to BOW. For more, see Trefis Trade Ideas.

Unique KeyDateTickerCompanyCategoryTrade Strategy6M Fwd Rtn12M Fwd Rtn12M Max DD
WU_11212025_Dip_Buyer_FCFYield11212025WUWestern UnionDip BuyDB | FCFY OPMDip Buy with High FCF Yield and High Margin
Buying dips for companies with high FCF yield and meaningfully high operating margin
12.4%12.4%-0.4%
COIN_11212025_Monopoly_xInd_xCD_Getting_Cheaper11212025COINCoinbase GlobalMonopolyMY | Getting CheaperMonopoly-Like with P/S Decline
Large cap with monopoly-like margins or cash flow generation and getting cheaper based on P/S multiple
0.8%0.8%-0.5%
PYPL_11142025_Dip_Buyer_FCFYield11142025PYPLPayPalDip BuyDB | FCFY OPMDip Buy with High FCF Yield and High Margin
Buying dips for companies with high FCF yield and meaningfully high operating margin
-5.4%-5.4%-7.5%
V_11142025_Monopoly_xInd_xCD_Getting_Cheaper11142025VVisaMonopolyMY | Getting CheaperMonopoly-Like with P/S Decline
Large cap with monopoly-like margins or cash flow generation and getting cheaper based on P/S multiple
7.1%7.1%-2.7%
WD_11072025_Dip_Buyer_ValueBuy11072025WDWalker & DunlopDip BuyDB | P/E OPMDip Buy with Low PE and High Margin
Buying dips for companies with tame PE and meaningfully high operating margin
-11.5%-11.5%-12.1%

Recent Active Movers

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Peer Comparisons for Bowhead Specialty

Peers to compare with:

Financials

BOWKNSLSKWDRLIJRVRWRBMedian
NameBowhead .Kinsale .Skyward .RLI James Ri.WR Berkl. 
Mkt Price28.67396.6451.7265.246.3970.6458.48
Mkt Cap0.99.22.16.00.328.14.0
Rev LTM5191,8031,3381,85664714,6451,570
Op Inc LTM-------
FCF LTM328961371581103,330476
FCF 3Y Avg-888357478-383,254478
CFO LTM3331,015378586153,398482
CFO 3Y Avg-913361483-323,330483

Growth & Margins

BOWKNSLSKWDRLIJRVRWRBMedian
NameBowhead .Kinsale .Skyward .RLI James Ri.WR Berkl. 
Rev Chg LTM33.4%18.1%22.5%5.2%-19.1%11.3%14.7%
Rev Chg 3Y Avg-32.4%31.4%4.7%2.1%10.6%10.6%
Rev Chg Q23.3%19.0%26.5%8.4%-9.8%12.0%15.5%
QoQ Delta Rev Chg LTM5.5%4.6%6.4%2.2%-2.8%2.8%3.7%
Op Mgn LTM-------
Op Mgn 3Y Avg-------
QoQ Delta Op Mgn LTM-------
CFO/Rev LTM64.1%56.3%28.3%31.6%2.4%23.2%29.9%
CFO/Rev 3Y Avg-62.3%33.8%28.2%-2.7%25.2%28.2%
FCF/Rev LTM63.2%53.3%27.8%31.3%1.6%22.7%29.5%
FCF/Rev 3Y Avg-60.8%33.4%27.8%-3.5%24.7%27.8%

Valuation

BOWKNSLSKWDRLIJRVRWRBMedian
NameBowhead .Kinsale .Skyward .RLI James Ri.WR Berkl. 
Mkt Cap0.99.22.16.00.328.14.0
P/S1.85.11.63.20.51.91.9
P/EBIT13.715.111.113.5-12.810.912.3
P/E17.919.414.817.0-6.014.715.9
P/CFO2.89.05.510.219.08.38.7
Total Yield5.6%5.3%6.7%9.9%-16.1%8.6%6.2%
Dividend Yield0.0%0.2%0.0%4.0%0.7%1.8%0.4%
FCF Yield 3Y Avg-8.8%24.5%7.4%-28.1%14.5%8.8%
D/E0.00.00.10.01.10.10.0
Net D/E-0.9-0.2-0.6-0.3-2.0-0.9-0.8

Returns

BOWKNSLSKWDRLIJRVRWRBMedian
NameBowhead .Kinsale .Skyward .RLI James Ri.WR Berkl. 
1M Rtn5.2%4.7%6.5%6.2%11.7%-7.4%5.7%
3M Rtn3.4%-7.7%8.0%4.1%10.9%-4.1%3.7%
6M Rtn-20.6%-14.8%-8.0%-5.0%12.3%0.1%-6.5%
12M Rtn-17.6%-15.6%1.3%-18.7%29.3%23.5%-7.2%
3Y Rtn-45.5%-7.2%-69.8%57.1%26.3%
1M Excs Rtn1.8%1.3%3.1%2.9%8.3%-10.8%2.3%
3M Excs Rtn1.3%-9.4%5.7%0.3%10.6%-8.7%0.8%
6M Excs Rtn-35.7%-29.6%-21.8%-18.6%-1.2%-13.6%-20.2%
12M Excs Rtn-33.7%-31.7%-15.5%-35.3%22.8%6.9%-23.6%
3Y Excs Rtn--29.2%--67.3%-151.0%-20.3%-48.3%

Financials

Segment Financials

Revenue by Segment
$ Mil20242023
Specialty insurance group283188
Total283188


Price Behavior

Price Behavior
Market Price$28.67 
Market Cap ($ Bil)0.9 
First Trading Date05/23/2024 
Distance from 52W High-32.0% 
   50 Days200 Days
DMA Price$26.49$33.25
DMA Trenddownindeterminate
Distance from DMA8.2%-13.8%
 3M1YR
Volatility41.7%34.8%
Downside Capture-17.3640.79
Upside Capture1.8115.39
Correlation (SPY)5.9%22.4%
BOW Betas & Captures as of 11/30/2025

 1M2M3M6M1Y3Y
Beta0.300.250.290.540.44-0.18
Up Beta0.731.391.871.710.50-0.01
Down Beta0.110.03-0.30-0.270.47-0.21
Up Capture147%15%-19%-2%11%7%
Bmk +ve Days12253873141426
Stock +ve Days12233059121188
Down Capture-53%-6%41%106%62%49%
Bmk -ve Days7162452107323
Stock -ve Days7183265126190

[1] Upside and downside betas calculated using positive and negative benchmark daily returns respectively
Based On 1-Year Data
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Based On 5-Year Data
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Based On 10-Year Data
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Short Interest

Short Interest: As Of Date12152025
Short Interest: Shares Quantity1,021,000
Short Interest: % Change Since 11302025-7.8%
Average Daily Volume187,944
Days-to-Cover Short Interest5.43
Basic Shares Quantity32,782,300
Short % of Basic Shares3.1%

Earnings Returns History

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 Forward Returns
Earnings Date1D Returns5D Returns21D Returns
11/4/20254.5%8.9%6.7%
8/5/2025-3.9%-2.5%-3.5%
5/6/2025-0.8%-6.5%-10.9%
2/25/20256.9%9.9%30.0%
10/21/2024-4.6%-1.9%13.4%
SUMMARY STATS   
# Positive223
# Negative332
Median Positive5.7%9.4%13.4%
Median Negative-3.9%-2.5%-7.2%
Max Positive6.9%9.9%30.0%
Max Negative-4.6%-6.5%-10.9%

SEC Filings

Expand for More
Report DateFiling DateFiling
93020251104202510-Q 9/30/2025
6302025805202510-Q 6/30/2025
3312025506202510-Q 3/31/2025
12312024227202510-K 12/31/2024
93020241105202410-Q 9/30/2024
6302024808202410-Q 6/30/2024
123120235242024424B4 12/31/2023