CHINA LIFE INSURANCE CO LTD
CILJFAbout the company
China Life Insurance Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a life insurance company in the People's Republic of China. The company operates through Life Insurance Business, Health Insurance Business, Accident Insurance Business, and Other Businesses segments. It offers life, annuity, health, and accident insurance products to individuals and groups.
Investment snapshot
Positive
4
BUY / PASS
Neutral / negative
3 / 8
NEUTRAL / FAIL
Median fair value
$3.68
-3.1% vs price
Models with upside
4 / 15
Positive margin of safety
Strongest signal
9 of 10 pass — Buffett objects
Key risk
All 4 investors flag CILJF's efficiency
Framework analysis
| Verdict | Meaning |
|---|---|
| BUY | Positive purchase signal: the framework's buy requirements are met. |
| PASS | The company clears the framework's checklist or screen, but the framework does not produce a buy signal. For valuation frameworks this often means margin of safety is missing, insufficient, or unavailable; some screen-only frameworks have no intrinsic-value BUY state. |
| NEUTRAL | Neither a positive nor negative conclusion. It does not mean to hold an existing position. |
| FAIL | The company does not clear the framework's requirements. |
| Ranked | Ranked strategies do not use PASS: selected cohort is BUY, outside the cohort is FAIL, and unranked is NEUTRAL. |
| Metric | O'Shaughnessy Systematic Factor Composite | Lynch GARP | Buffett Quality Compounder | Pabrai Dhandho Framework | Akre Three-Legged Stool | Schloss Asset-Value Discipline | Neff Low-P/E Total Return | Munger Quality Focus | Sleep Scale Economies Shared | Templeton Global Bargain Hunter | Marks Risk-Aware Value | Ackman Activist Value | Dreman Contrarian Value | Piotroski F-Score | Graham Defensive Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verdict | NEUTRAL | FAIL | FAIL | FAIL | FAIL | FAIL | FAIL | FAIL | PASS | FAIL | NEUTRAL | PASS | PASS | NEUTRAL | PASS |
| Score | |||||||||||||||
| Analysis | |||||||||||||||
| Intrinsic Value | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ||||||||
| Margin of Safety | N/A | N/A | -15.5% | -158.5% | +16.7% | N/A | N/A | +86.5% | N/A | -22.2% | -41.0% | +87.3% | +6.7% | N/A | N/A |
| Data As Of | 10-K (2026-08-25) | 10-K (2026-08-25) | 10-K (2026-08-25) | 10-K (2026-08-25) | 10-K (2026-08-25) | 10-K (2026-08-24) | 10-K (2026-08-24) | 10-K (2026-08-19) | 10-K (2026-08-19) | 10-K (2026-08-18) | 10-K (2026-08-18) | 10-K (2026-08-18) | 10-K (2026-08-18) | 10-K (2026-08-18) | 10-K (2026-08-18) |
Where It Passes
- Cash Flow90% pass✓ 11✗ 1▾
9 of 10 pass — Buffett objects
(Operating cash flow - capex) / market capitalization+46.65%; #101/4487 (top 2.3%)✓OshaughnessyTop 10% of eligible cross-sectionFCF Positive and Growing$50.1B✓LynchPositive and growingFree Cash Flow Proxy$4.9B✗BuffettPositive and growingP/E or FCF YieldFCF Yield=46.7%✓PabraiP/E < 15 or FCF Yield > 10%Operating Cash Flow - Capital Expenditures$50.1B✓Neff> $0 (app proxy for a strong fundamental case)Positive Operating Cash Flow frequency7/8 years positive✓SleepPositive OCF in >= 70% of available yearsFCF Positive7/8 years FCF positive✓MarksPositive FCF in majority of recent years(OCF - CapEx) / Market Cap46.7%✓Ackman>= 4%Price / FCF per Share2.1x✓Ackman<= 25Price / (CFO / Shares)2.1x✓Dreman< 8xOperating Cash Flow$50.5B✓PiotroskiCFO > 0(CFO / Total Assets) vs ROACFO/Assets=6.70%, ROA=0.61%✓PiotroskiCFO/Assets > ROA - Debt & Leverage80% pass✓ 10✗ 2▾
8 of 10 pass — Lynch and Schloss object
Total Debt / Equity0✓Lynch< 0.33Cash - Long-term Debt✗LynchPositive preferredDebt/Equity & Interest CoverageD/E: 0.00, IC: 5.9x✓BuffettD/E < 0.5 AND Interest Coverage > 5xDebt Levels0✓AkreDebt/Equity < 0.3✓MungerDebt/Equity < 0.5Total Debt / Shareholders' Equity0.00x✓SchlossD/E < 1.00x✓Templeton< 1.0 (fixed cap; proxy for below-sector-median leverage)✓Dreman< 0.8Current Assets / Current Liabilities✗SchlossCurrent ratio >= 1.50x (app cutoff)Interest Coverage & Debt/EBITDAIC=5.9x, D/EBITDA=0.0x✓MarksInterest Coverage > 3x; Debt/EBITDA < 4xTotal Debt / Shareholders Equity0✓Ackman<= 1.0LT Debt / Total Assets Change0.00% -> 0.00%✓PiotroskiDecreased YoY - Growth63% pass✓ 7✗ 5▾
5 of 8 pass — Lynch, Sleep and Ackman object
Basic earnings-growth PEG (dividends excluded)✗Lynch< 1.0 (ideally < 0.5)3-5 Year EPS CAGR7.6%✓Lynch15-30% (Fast Grower); > 0% to pass3-5 Year Diluted EPS CAGR7.6% over 5 years✓Neff7%-20% annualizedRevenue growth vs. gross and operating margin trend✗SleepRevenue rising; gross margin flat or falling; operating margin holding5-year Revenue CAGR3.2%✗SleepCAGR > 7%5-Year EPS CAGR16.2% CAGR over 3 years✓Templeton> 0% (5-year EPS CAGR)Positive Net Income Frequency8/8 years positive✓MarksPositive net income in >= 7 of last 10 years3yr Median Revenue Growth4.9%✗Ackman>= 5%Positive EPS Growth Frequency1/3 years with positive EPS growth✗AckmanPositive EPS growth in >= 3 of last 5 yearsEPS Growth Direction$0.19 (2015) -> $0.27 (2020)✓DremanPositive over recent yearsEPS CAGR7.6% CAGR over 5 years✓Dreman> 5% annualizedEPS Growth (3-yr avg, 10-yr window)91.6%✓Graham>= 33% growth
Where It Falls Short
- Efficiency0% pass✗ 5▾
All 4 investors flag CILJF's efficiency
ROIC (high and growing)FY2020: ROIC=unavailable; FY2021: ROIC=unavailable; FY2022: ROIC=unavailable✗AkreLatest 3 consecutive FYs: ROIC > 15% in eachReinvestment Rate x ROIC✗AkreReinvestment Rate * ROIC > 10%Return on Invested Capital✗Munger> 15%ROIC (5-year)✗SleepROIC > 12% in a majority of yearsRevenue / Total Assets Change YoY0.17x -> 0.15x✗PiotroskiImproved YoY - Profitability14% pass✓ 8✗ 20▾
12 of 14 flag CILJF's profitability — Oshaughnessy, Lynch, Buffett +9 more
Net income / market capitalization+4.29%; #1798/6251 (top 28.8%)✗OshaughnessyTop 10% of eligible cross-sectionBasic earnings-growth PEG (dividends excluded)✗Lynch< 1.0 (ideally < 0.5)3-5 Year EPS CAGR7.6%✓Lynch15-30% (Fast Grower); > 0% to passROE7.4%✗Lynch> 15%Net Income Positive (10+ years)8/9 years positive✗BuffettPositive every year for 10+ yearsROE (up to 5-year arithmetic mean)9.4%✗Buffett> 15% arithmetic mean (app rule)Operating Margin (10-yr trend)✗BuffettStable or rising over 10 yearsFree Cash Flow Proxy$4.9B✗BuffettPositive and growingEarnings Variance (10-yr CoV)0.48✗BuffettCoV < 0.3Retained Earnings Effectiveness✗Buffett$1 retained -> > $1 market value createdMargin of SafetyP/B=1.7x✗PabraiP/B < 1.5 or P/E < 15Return on Equity9.7% (3-yr avg)✗AkreROE > 20% (3-year avg)Positive Diluted-EPS Years6/6 years positive✓Schloss>= 70% positive over 5-10 observed years (app rule)3-5 Year Diluted EPS CAGR7.6% over 5 years✓Neff7%-20% annualizedRevenue growth vs. gross and operating margin trend✗SleepRevenue rising; gross margin flat or falling; operating margin holding5-Year EPS CAGR16.2% CAGR over 3 years✓Templeton> 0% (5-year EPS CAGR)Operating Margin Trend✗TempletonNon-negative operating-margin trend over 3 yearsDiscount to Intrinsic Value6.7% (IV=$4.07 vs Price=$3.80)✗Marks>= 20% below intrinsic valuePositive Net Income Frequency8/8 years positive✓MarksPositive net income in >= 7 of last 10 yearsOperating Income / Revenue✗Ackman>= 15%Net Income / Shareholders Equity7.4%✗Ackman>= 15%Pre-Tax Income / Revenue3.0%✗Dreman>= 8%Net Income / Shareholders' Equity7.4%✗Dreman> 12%Net Income / Total Assets0.61%✓PiotroskiROA > 0ROA Change YoY1.04% -> 0.61% (delta: -0.43%)✗PiotroskiCurrent ROA > Prior ROA(CFO / Total Assets) vs ROACFO/Assets=6.70%, ROA=0.61%✓PiotroskiCFO/Assets > ROAPositive EPS (10 years)6/9 years positive✗GrahamPositive EPS every year for 10 yearsEPS Growth (3-yr avg, 10-yr window)91.6%✓Graham>= 33% growth - Valuation18% pass✓ 7✗ 17▾
9 of 11 flag CILJF's valuation — Oshaughnessy, Lynch, Schloss +6 more
Revenue / market capitalization+1.0756; #1571/5203 (top 30.2%)✗OshaughnessyTop 10% of eligible cross-sectionNet income / market capitalization+4.29%; #1798/6251 (top 28.8%)✗OshaughnessyTop 10% of eligible cross-section(Operating cash flow - capex) / market capitalization+46.65%; #101/4487 (top 2.3%)✓OshaughnessyTop 10% of eligible cross-sectionTrailing six-month price return through the evaluation date✗OshaughnessyTop 10% of eligible cross-sectionBasic earnings-growth PEG (dividends excluded)✗Lynch< 1.0 (ideally < 0.5)P/E or FCF YieldFCF Yield=46.7%✓PabraiP/E < 15 or FCF Yield > 10%Price / Book Value per Share1.71x✗SchlossP/B <= 0.80x (app cutoff)✗Templeton< 1.5x✗Dreman< 1.2xPrice / Tangible Book Value per Share1.71x✗SchlossP/TBV <= 1.00x (app cutoff)Book Value per Share Change+27.5%✓SchlossLatest BVPS >= earliest BVPS over >= 3 years (app rule)Price / Diluted EPS✗NeffP/E <= 15x (app proxy for a P/E 40%-60% below the market)(EPS CAGR % + Dividend Yield %) / P/E✗Neff> 0.7 (Neff's published traditional edge)Valuation ReasonablenessOE Yield=4.6%✗MungerP/E < 25 or Owner Earnings Yield > 5%Price / EPS✗Templeton< 12x (fixed ceiling; proxy for the market's cheapest 40%)✗Dreman< 12xPrice vs. Trailing Low✗Templeton<= 120% of trailing low (certified split-adjusted live window)P/B or P/E vs. Historical AverageP/B=1.7x✓MarksP/E < 15 or P/B < 2.0Discount to Intrinsic Value6.7% (IV=$4.07 vs Price=$3.80)✗Marks>= 20% below intrinsic valuePrice / FCF per Share2.1x✓Ackman<= 25Price / (CFO / Shares)2.1x✓Dreman< 8xPrice / 3-yr avg EPS14.0x✓Graham<= 15xPrice-to-Book Ratio1.7x✗Graham<= 1.5xP/E x P/B24.00✗Graham<= 22.5 - Verdicts33% pass✓ 4✗ 8▾
Split decision: 8 FAIL · 4 PASS · 3 NEUTRAL
Overall verdict•OshaughnessyNEUTRAL (Not ranked)✗LynchFAIL (3/6)✗BuffettFAIL (1/7)✗PabraiFAIL (1/3)✗AkreFAIL (2/6)✗SchlossFAIL (3/7)✗NeffFAIL (3/6)✗MungerFAIL (1/4)✓SleepPASS (3/6)✗TempletonFAIL (3/8)•MarksNEUTRAL (4/5)✓AckmanPASS (5/9)✓DremanPASS (5/10)•PiotroskiNEUTRAL (F-Score 5)✓GrahamPASS (3/7) - Valuation models50% pass✓ 4✗ 4▾
Models split on CILJF at $3.80 — fair values range $1.47–$29.97
Buffett fair value$3.29✗Buffett-15.5% margin vs $3.80Pabrai fair value$1.47✗Pabrai-158.5% margin vs $3.80Akre fair value$4.56✓Akre+16.7% margin vs $3.80Munger fair value$28.18✓Munger+86.5% margin vs $3.80Templeton fair value$3.11✗Templeton-22.2% margin vs $3.80Marks fair value$2.69✗Marks-41.0% margin vs $3.80Ackman fair value$29.97✓Ackman+87.3% margin vs $3.80Dreman fair value$4.07✓Dreman+6.7% margin vs $3.80
Business & financials
Company Profile
Financial Snapshot
Insurers file unclassified balance sheets with no inventory or current accounts, so those criteria are omitted rather than failed for missing data. Return-on-invested-capital tests are omitted too: float funds the balance sheet but never appears in invested capital, and the portfolio it is invested in would be subtracted as spare cash. Debt tests are kept — an insurer’s borrowings are real leverage on top of underwriting.
Shareholder Return
Fiscal 2022
Retired 0.0% of shares last year, 0.0% over two.
- Buybacks
- —
- Dividends
- —
What drove EPS
A buyback raises earnings per share without the company earning more. This splits each year's change into the two.
The two parts do not sum exactly to the total — the difference is the cross-term, plus preferred capital where the company has any. It is left visible rather than distributed into the other two.
Share count is the denominator the filer used for diluted EPS, recovered as net income ÷ EPS — not the balance-sheet count, which is a point-in-time figure and would put the timing difference into this split. Years with a loss are omitted: a smaller share count makes a loss per share larger, so the decomposition inverts.
Company Financials
Annual data (10-K) · Last 5 years
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2021 | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | FY 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market Cap | $107.4B | $50.3Best. | $61.6Best. | $68.1Best. | $67.3Best. |
| Revenue | $115.5B↓11% | $129.5B↑5% | $123.4B↑18% | $104.4B↑14% | $91.2B |
| Operating Income | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Net Income | $4.6B↓42% | $8.0B↑3% | $7.7B↓8% | $8.3B↑404% | $1.7B |
| EPS (Diluted) | -- | -- | $0.27↓8% | $0.29↑417% | $0.06 |
| Gross Margin | — | — | — | — | — |
| Operating Margin | — | — | — | — | — |
| ROE | 7.4%↓31% | 10.6%↓5% | 11.2%↓23% | 14.4%↑303% | 3.6% |
| Total Debt | $225.3M↓34% | $342.4M↓16% | $408.5M↓8% | $442.5M | $0 |
| Shareholders' Equity | $62.6B↓17% | $75.2B↑9% | $69.0B↑19% | $57.8B↑25% | $46.3B |
| Current Ratio | — | — | — | — | — |
| Debt / Equity | 0.00↓21% | 0.00↓23% | 0.01↓23% | 0.01 | 0.00 |
| Operating Cash Flow | $50.5B↑12% | $45.0B↓4% | $46.6B↑14% | $40.9B↑91% | $21.5B |
| Free Cash Flow | $50.1B↑14% | $44.1B↓3% | $45.4B↑16% | $39.3B↑111% | $18.6B |
Score history
Historical Score Timeline
Industry peers
Industry Peers
Similar companies in Insurance
CILJF vs Peers — Financial Grading
| Company | Market Cap | Price | Revenue | Net Income | ROE | D/E | Op. Margin | Curr. Ratio | Graham | Buffett | Lynch | Piotroski | Dreman |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INCUNH | $336.5B | $374.94 | $447.6B | $12.1B | 12.0% | 0.78 | 4.2% | 0.79 | 3/7 | 4/7 | 0/6 | F-Score 6 | 3/10 |
| PROGRESSIVE CORP/OH/PGR | $122.2B | $210.52 | $87.7B | $11.3B | 37.3% | 0.23 | — | — | 2/7 | 2/7 | 5/6 | F-Score 6 | 8/10 |
| MARSH & MCLENNAN COMPANIES, INC.MRSH | $81.3B | $170.42 | $27.0B | $4.2B | 27.2% | 1.28 | 23.1% | 1.10 | 3/7 | 3/7 | 3/6 | F-Score 6 | 5/10 |
| Aon plcAON | $58.5B | $275.90 | $17.2B | $3.7B | 39.5% | 1.63 | 25.3% | 1.11 | 2/7 | 4/7 | 3/6 | F-Score 6 | 3/10 |
| AFLAC INCAFL | $57.0B | $113.66 | $17.2B | $3.6B | 12.4% | 0.29 | — | — | 3/7 | 4/7 | 2/6 | F-Score 4 | 4/10 |
| HUMANA INCHUM | $46.5B | $386.87 | $129.7B | $1.2B | 6.7% | 0.70 | 2.1% | 2.00 | 3/7 | 2/7 | 0/6 | F-Score 4 | 4/10 |
| SUN LIFE FINANCIAL INCSLF | $44.0B | $79.06 | $30.6B | $2.6B | 14.5% | 0.33 | — | — | 3/7 | 3/7 | 2/6 | F-Score 6 | 5/10 |
| HARTFORD INSURANCE GROUP, INC.HIG | $34.8B | $125.85 | $28.4B | $3.8B | 20.2% | 0.23 | — | — | 4/7 | 3/7 | 4/6 | F-Score 7 | 8/10 |