Aflac Q2 2026 U.S. Sales Up 2.6% as Q4 Outlook Improves

U.S. sales tracking this year—and how traditional agency compares with the brokerage channel (Aflac, 2026 Q2)

1) How U.S. sales are tracking so far in 2026

• Management’s high-level view: For the year overall, Aflac said it is “in line with expectations, slightly the lower end of my expectations” and is expecting a stronger second half, “heavily weighted in the fourth quarter” due to seasonality. ¹²
• What they cite within U.S. performance: They reported U.S. sales up 2.6% year-over-year in Q2. ³
• Momentum in key U.S. lines: They also stated they are seeing momentum in group voluntary products and network dental and vision within their group business. ³

Bottom line on “tracking”: The evidence in the excerpts points to modest year-to-date/near-term strength (Q2 +2.6% YoY in sales) but with management characterizing the overall year as roughly in-line and slightly below the midpoint of expectations, expecting materially better performance later in the year (especially Q4). ¹²³

---

2) Traditional agency channels vs. brokerage channel—relative performance

The question asks specifically for how traditional agency is performing relative to the brokerage channel.

A) Management’s explicit channel context

• Management said the market dynamic is that brokers have “gone more heavily into voluntary benefits,” selling more of the group product, and Aflac is seeing that. ²
• Despite that broker shift, Aflac states it is “still dedicated… to our agency force” and continues rolling out strong individual traditional products for agencies. ²

B) Evidence of agency strength in U.S. product performance

Aflac gave product-level results that they directly connected to agency execution:

• Dental and vision growth: Dental and vision were up 47% in Q2, and management said this was “heavily driven by our agency force.” ²
• Second-quarter pairing success (VB attach): They also emphasized a cross-sell/attach ratio: for every $1 sold in second quarter with dental/vision, they sold $1.07 of voluntary benefits, describing this as better than expected and a trend they want to continue. ⁴

Interpretation tied to the question: While the excerpts do not provide a formal “agency vs brokerage” quantitative market-share or channel-mix chart, they do provide a qualitative comparison:

• Brokerage is portrayed as shifting toward voluntary benefits and selling more group products. ²
• Traditional agencies are portrayed as still a key engine—particularly through dental/vision performance—with management attributing that strong growth to the agency force. ²
• The company is also trying to ensure its agency-led traditional products drive voluntary benefits alongside (the $1.07 attach ratio), which is directly relevant because voluntary benefits are a major focus area for brokers. ²⁴

Bottom line on relative performance: The excerpts suggest brokers are leaning more into voluntary benefits (benefiting group product sales broadly), while Aflac’s traditional agency channel is showing strong execution in dental/vision and is successfully attaching voluntary benefits alongside, supported by management’s explicit attribution of Q2 dental/vision strength to the agency force and the favorable $1.07 VB-per-$1 dental/vision metric. ²⁴

---

3) What management expects going forward (still relevant to channel comparison)

• Aflac expects stronger traditional overall performance in the year, tied to a stronger second half and Q4 seasonality: “I do expect… a stronger year traditional overall this year… with a stronger second half heavily weighted in the fourth quarter.” ²
• They also said a specific focus for the second half is getting brokers to adopt a network dental product (“We’re going to push stronger in the second half… and really get brokers to adopt the network dental product.”). ²

Implication for the “relative to brokerage” part: Even as management credits agency strength and attach success, it also signals that broker adoption of certain products (network dental) is a lever they plan to press in the second half—consistent with the competitive reality that brokers have been reallocating effort toward voluntary/group products. ²

---

Summary Answer

• U.S. sales tracking this year: Q2 sales were up 2.6% YoY, and management characterizes the overall year as in line with expectations, slightly toward the lower end, expecting a stronger second half heavily weighted to Q4. ³¹²
• Traditional agency vs brokerage: Brokers are described as increasing voluntary benefits emphasis, while Aflac says it remains committed to agencies and reports dental/vision up 47% in Q2, heavily driven by agency force, plus a favorable attach outcome ($1.07 voluntary benefits per $1 dental/vision in Q2). ²⁴