MetLife, Inc.’s MET first-quarter 2020 operating earnings of $1.58 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.97% and also improved 6.7% year over year.Behind the HeadlinesThough the company’s operating revenues of $15.5 billion were up 1% year over year, the same missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7%.Adjusted premiums, fees & other revenues excluding pension risk transfer were up marginally 0.4% year over year to $11.2 billion.Net investment income (adjusted) of $4.3 billion was up 1% year over year, driven by higher private equity income.Total adjusted expenses of $13.7 million were up 0.6% year over year.Adjusted expense ratio of 19.7% was down 80 basis points year over year.Adjusted book value per share was $52.36, up 15% year over year.Adjusted return on equity was 12.6%, down 110 basis points year over year.MetLife Inc Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise MetLife Inc price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | MetLife Inc QuoteQuarterly Segment DetailsUnited StatesAdjusted earnings in this segment increased 8% year over year to $780 million on higher contribution in Retirement and Income Solutions, and Property and Casualty, partly offset by lower underwriting margins in the Group Benefits sub-segment.Adjusted premiums, fees & other revenues were $6.2 billion, up 2% year over year owing to higher premiums in Group Benefits, and Property and Casualty sub-segments, partly offset by lower premiums in Retirement and Income Solution sub-segment.AsiaOperating earnings of $351 million stayed flat year over year, attributable to volume growth, which in turn, was offset by less favorable underwriting, unfavorable equity markets and soft investment margins.Adjusted premiums, fees & other revenues were $2.1 billion, down 2% on constant-currency basis.Latin AmericaOperating earnings of $95 million were down 19% year over year due to lower equity returns, which impacted the Chilean encaje returns. Adjusted premiums, fees & other revenues were $921 million, up 8% on improved sales in Chile, Mexico and Brazil.Operating earnings from EMEA decreased 6% year over year to $78 million, primarily due to lower equity markets and unfavorable underwriting.Adjusted premiums, fees & other revenues of $697 million were up 8% year over year on constant-currency basis on the back of higher sales.MetLife HoldingsAdjusted operating earnings from MetLife Holdings came in at $277 million, down 13% year over year.Operating premiums, fees & other revenues were $1.2 billion, down 3% year over year.Financial UpdateAs of Mar 31, 2020, shareholders’ equity was $65.9 billion, up 19.4% year over year.Long-term debt as of the first-quarter end was $14.5 billion, up 7.4% sequentially.Cash and cash equivalents of $24.1 billion as of Mar 31, 2020, were up 45.2% sequentially.Zacks Rank & Peer ReleasesMetLife currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Among other players in the insurance space that already reported first-quarter earnings, the bottom-line results of Principal Financial Group PFG, The Progressive Corp. PGR and The Travelers Companies TRV missed the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.36%, 19.3% and 9.03%.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The Travelers Companies Inc (TRV): Free Stock Analysis Report The Progressive Corporation (PGR): Free Stock Analysis Report MetLife Inc (MET): Free Stock Analysis Report Principal Financial Group Inc (PFG): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research