Allstate reported second-quarter earnings of $1.76 a share -- missing analysts' estimates by $0.05.
Shares of the company , which closed at $60.56 Wednesday, were down slightly after U.S. markets closed.
But Allstate, the No. 2 writer of auto policies in the U.S. (after mutually-owned State Farm), posted quarterly revenue that beat Wall Street views: $9.455 billion versus the $9.005 billion that analysts had predicted.
In an interview with CNBC, Thomas J. Wilson, president and chief executive officer of Allstate, maintained that “We had a great quarter."
He explained, "We give analysts our expectations of what our combined ratio is, a measure of profitability that excludes catastrophes and prior year reserve releases. On that basis, we had the most successful quarter we’ve had in a long time, right at the top end of our expectations.”
"Our average prices are flat from last year and that’s pretty much what you see in the industry," the CEO said. "…Our average price is flat this year vs. last year.”
Wilson reassured investors who may be concerned with Allstate's exposure to low rated bonds, particularly in the subprime mortgage market. He said the firm has a mere “$5 billion invested in that segment, out of about $122 billion" total investments.
"Of that $5 billion, over 93% of it is in the top two credit quality sectors, and so we’re in very good shape in that segment. We don’t expect it to have any impact in any meaningful way on our portfolio."