Axa Shares Decline on Net Income Miss, Italian Takeover (1)

Axa SA fell the most in almost four months after profit missed estimates and the French insurance group agreed to buy a majority in Italian car insurer Prima Assicurazioni.

The stock fell as much as 7%, the biggest intraday decline since April 7, after first-half net income declined 2.4% to €3.92 billion. That missed the €4.68 billion estimate by analysts in a Bloomberg poll.

“Standing out for us is the 8% headline earnings miss and 9% equity miss,” KBW analyst William Hawkins said in a note.

Axa Chief Executive Officer Thomas Buberl is seeking to strengthen the core business after ...