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SMALLCAP ACCOUNT

Class 1 and Class 2 Shares

Principal Variable Contracts Funds, Inc. Summary Prospectus May 1, 2026

Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s Prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information, Reports to Shareholders, and other information about the Fund online at www.PrincipalAM.com/PVCProspectuses. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-800-222-5852 or by sending an email request to prospectus@principalfunds.com.

The Fund’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated May 1, 2026, as may be amended or supplemented, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.

Objective

The Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and examples below. These fees and expenses do not reflect the fees and expenses of any variable insurance contract that may invest in the Fund and would be higher if they did.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)


	Share Class
	Class 1	Class 2
Management Fees	0.83%	0.83%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees	N/A	0.25%
Other Expenses	0.01%	0.02%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.84%	1.10%

Example

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. If separate account expenses and contract-level expenses were included, expenses would be higher. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:


	1 year	3 years	5 years	10 years
SmallCap Account - Class 1	$86	$268	$466	$1,037
SmallCap Account - Class 2	112	350	606	1,340

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 37.0% of the average value of its portfolio.

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Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of companies with small market capitalizations. For this Fund, companies with small market capitalizations are those with market capitalizations within the range of companies comprising the Russell 2000 ® Index (as of March 31, 2026, this was between approximately $3.3 million and $34.2 billion). Those managing the Fund’s investments seek to invest in securities of companies that they believe have improving and sustainable business fundamentals, rising investor expectations, and attractive relative valuations.

Principal Risks

The value of your investment in the Fund changes with the value of the Fund’s investments. Many factors affect that value, and it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are listed below in alphabetical order and not in order of significance.

Equity Securities Risk. A variety of factors can negatively impact the value of equity securities held by a fund, including a decline in the issuer’s financial condition, unfavorable performance of the issuer’s sector or industry, or changes in response to overall market and economic conditions. A fund’s principal market segment(s) (such as market capitalization or style) may underperform other market segments or the equity markets as a whole.

•Smaller Companies Risk. Investments in smaller companies may involve greater risk and price volatility than investments in larger, more mature companies. Smaller companies may have limited product lines, markets, or financial resources; lack the competitive strength of larger companies; have less experienced managers; or depend on a few key employees. Their securities often are less widely held and trade less frequently and in lesser quantities, and their market prices often fluctuate more, than securities of larger companies.

Redemption and Large Transaction Risk. Ownership of the Fund’s shares may be concentrated in one or a few large investors (such as funds of funds, institutional investors, and asset allocation programs) that may redeem or purchase shares in large quantities. These transactions may cause the Fund to sell securities to meet redemptions or to invest additional cash at times it would not otherwise do so, which may result in increased transaction costs, increased expenses, changes to expense ratios, and adverse effects to Fund performance. Such transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable income if sales of portfolio securities result in gains. Moreover, reallocations by large shareholders among share classes of a fund may result in changes to the expense ratios of affected classes, which may increase the expenses paid by shareholders of the class that experienced the redemption.

Performance

The following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. You may get updated performance information by calling 1-800-222-5852.

The bar chart shows changes in the Fund’s Class 1 performance from year to year. The table shows how the Fund’s average annual returns for 1, 5, and 10 years (or, if shorter, the life of the Fund) compare with those of one or more broad measures of market performance. Performance figures for the Fund do not include any separate account expenses, cost of insurance, or other contract-level expenses; total returns for the Fund would be lower if such expenses were included.

Total Returns as of December 31

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Highest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above:	Q2 2020	28.64%
Lowest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above:	Q1 2020	(30.53)%

Average Annual Total Returns

For the periods ended December 31, 2025


	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
SmallCap Account - Class 1	15.10%	6.29%	9.57%
SmallCap Account - Class 2	14.78%	6.02%	9.29%
Russell 3000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	17.15%	13.15%	14.29%
Russell 2000 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	12.81%	6.09%	9.62%

The Russell 3000 Index is the Fund's primary broad-based securities market index. The Russell 2000 Index is included as an additional index for the Fund as it shows how the Fund’s performance compares with the returns of an index of funds with similar investment objectives.

Investment Advisor and Portfolio Managers

Principal Global Investors, LLC

• Emily Foshag (since 2025), Portfolio Manager

•Phil Nordhus (since 2006), Portfolio Manager

•Brian W. Pattinson (since 2011), Portfolio Manager

Tax Information

The Fund intends to comply with applicable variable asset diversification regulations. Taxation to you will depend on what you do with your variable life insurance or variable annuity contract. See your variable product prospectus for information about the tax implications of investing in the Fund.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as an insurance company), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment, to recommend one Fund or share class of the Fund over another Fund or share class, or to recommend one variable annuity, variable life insurance policy, or mutual fund over another. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

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