American Equity Investment Life Holding Company AEL reported third-quarter 2020 adjusted net earnings of 99 cents per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.3%. The bottom line decreased 39.4% on a year-over-year basis.The quarter witnessed lower investment spread income and an increase in the liability for future policy benefits to be paid for lifetime income benefit riders, partially offset by a decline in deferred acquisition cost and deferred sales inducement amortization.Operational UpdateOperating total revenues were $543 million, up 0.2% year over year. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.7%.Premiums and other considerations more than doubled. Annuity product charges decreased 2.2% while net investment income declined about 8%, all on a year-over-year basis.Gross annuity sales of $574 million decreased 53% year over year. Sequentially, Annuity sales increased driven by increased multi-year fixed rate annuity sales at Eagle Life. Gross sales at American Equity Life decreased 8% while at Eagle Life it surged 75% year over yearTotal benefits were $53 million, compared with expenses of $592.4 million in the year ago quarter.Investment spread was 2.44%, down from 2.75% in the year-ago quarter.Policyholder funds under management of $53 billion at quarter end were down 0.2% from second quarter end.American Equity Investment Life Holding Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise American Equity Investment Life Holding Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | American Equity Investment Life Holding Company QuoteFinancial UpdateCash and cash equivalents were $2.7 billion as on Sep 30, 2020, compared with $2.3 billion as on Dec 31, 2019. Total investments were about $57 billion, up from $56.9 billion at 2019 end.Note payable totaled $495.4 million, slightly up from $495.1 million at 2019 end.Book value per common share excluding AOCI was $35.97, up 31.6% from 2019 end.Total debt/total capitalization was 12.6% at third-quarter end, improving 1080 basis points.Operating return on equity excluding average AOCI was 4.3%.Estimated risk-based capital ratio was 382%, excluding approximately $300 million of excess cash at the holding company.Zacks RankAmerican Equity currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Performance of Other InsurersOf the insurance industry players that have reported third-quarter results so far, The Progressive Corporation PGR, The Travelers Companies TRV and RLI Corp. RLI beat the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings.The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of AllLast year, it generated $24 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $77.6 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>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 RLI Corp. (RLI): Free Stock Analysis Report The Progressive Corporation (PGR): Free Stock Analysis Report American Equity Investment Life Holding Company (AEL): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research