KKR reported record fee-related earnings and adjusted net income in the third quarter as assets under management crossed $800bn.
Adjusted net income rose 29% to $1.6bn, or $1.78 per share. Fee-related earnings increased 27% to $1.3bn, driven by higher management fees and fee-related performance revenue. Total operating earnings reached $1.7bn. The per-share figures for fee-related earnings, total operating earnings and adjusted net income were all records for both the quarter and the trailing twelve months.
Assets under management (AUM) stood at $804bn at the end of September, up 11% from a year earlier. The firm raised $25bn of new capital in the quarter. Fee-paying AUM was $648bn. Uncalled commitments totalled $146bn.
The firm said it expects to return more than $40bn to clients in 2026, which would exceed its previous annual record by more than 50%. It also approved a $500m increase to its share repurchase programme.
KKR insurance results drag on Global Atlantic
Insurance results were softer. Insurance operating earnings declined year on year, partly reflecting lower premiums and investment-related items at Global Atlantic. GAAP revenue fell, weighed by the insurance segment, while GAAP net income attributable to common stockholders rose to $1.1bn.
KKR entered insurance when it took a majority stake in Global Atlantic in 2021 and later acquired the rest. The deal gave the firm a large pool of permanent capital and the chance to manage the insurer’s assets across its credit, infrastructure and other strategies. Global Atlantic focuses on retirement and life products. It has become a material part of KKR’s earnings mix even as its contribution to results can vary with premiums, investment results and actuarial reviews.
The firm is still set to benefit from other insurance-related activity later in the year. The $17bn sale of USI Insurance Services to Aon is expected to close in the fourth quarter and add roughly $2bn to adjusted profit, subject to completion.
USI was a core private equity investment rather than part of Global Atlantic, but the sale still provides a clear earnings boost in the fourth quarter.
KKR’s $40bn client returns and the private markets exit cycle
KKR’s results add to the picture of large alternative managers continuing to scale. KKR has expanded across private equity, credit, infrastructure and insurance, with fee income becoming a larger and more stable part of earnings as AUM scales. The firm has also been active in insurance distribution and other adjacencies, consistent with broader moves by private capital into traditionally bank- or broker-dominated areas.
Market commentary focused less on the headline beat and more on capital returns. One observer noted that private markets “do not need another fundraising headline. They need distributions,” pointing to the $40bn figure while cautioning that one manager’s exits do not automatically mean wider activity across the industry.
A longer post framed the print as private capital “finding the exit door,” arguing that KKR’s expected client returns show selected investments are still being monetized even in a higher-rate environment, and that capital returned to limited partners does not automatically flow back into new deals.
What the numbers show
The fee growth and the move past $800bn in AUM stand out. Higher management fees came from both new money raised in the quarter and older commitments that are now fee-paying. Performance-related fees added to fee-related earnings in the quarter. At the same time, the insurance business remains a drag on reported revenue even as the broader platform expands.
KKR’s scale puts it among the largest alternative managers. Record fee earnings and a large capital return to limited partners show the firm generating more recurring revenue while still deploying and distributing capital. However, one firm’s exits and distributions do not automatically translate into wider activity across the industry.