KKR expects to return more than $40 billion to clients in 2026 after record quarterly results
Key Facts
KKR expects to return more than $40 billion to clients during 2026, exceeding its previous annual record by more than 50%, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company announced the forecast on November 9 alongside its third-quarter results. The filing said the total includes amounts already returned and amounts expected from announced transactions and activity completed after September 30. It had returned $31 billion to clients since the start of the year across private equity, real assets and credit. The forecast puts cash returned to investors at the forefront of the quarterly results, alongside growth in fee-related earnings.
KKR said its $31 billion in client distributions through the end of the third quarter compares with an annual average of $21 billion from 2021 to 2025. The distributions cover private equity, real assets and credit, according to the filing. In its earnings call transcript, the company said the expected total return exceeds $40 billion when announced transactions and activity completed since September 30 are included. The projected figure reflects the amount returned through the end of the quarter combined with flows tied to those transactions and subsequent activity. The company said it continues to monetize investments and return capital to clients.
For the second consecutive quarter, KKR posted record fee-related earnings, gross operating earnings and adjusted net income per share, on both a quarterly and trailing 12-month basis. Fee-related earnings were about $1.316 billion in the third quarter of 2026, compared with about $1.033 billion in the same period of 2025. The increase supports the company's performance in asset management, while adjusted net income was $1.6 billion. Adjusted net income rose 29% year over year, according to Reuters. Adjusted net income per share was also $1.78, topping analysts' average estimate of $1.59 a share.
KKR had about $804 billion in assets under management at the end of the third quarter, up 11% year over year. Fee-earning assets reached about $648 billion, also up 11%. The company raised $25 billion in new capital during the quarter and invested $20 billion. New capital raised over the 12 months ended in the quarter totaled $116 billion. The figures show a widening base of fee-earning assets alongside fundraising and investment activity.
Transactions included in the capital-return forecast include the sale of USI to Aon, announced on August 31. Aon said in its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it had agreed to buy the U.S. insurance broker from KKR and other shareholders for $17 billion. USI has about $3 billion in annual revenue and more than 10,500 employees across nearly 200 U.S. offices. KKR described the deal as a cash exit and the result of its investment in USI. The sale remains subject to closing conditions, according to information in the deal announcement; its proceeds are therefore tied to completion.
KKR shares moved higher after the results, gaining 3% in premarket trading on November 9, according to Reuters. The market response came as adjusted net income per share topped analysts' average estimate and fee-related earnings rose from a year earlier. Consecutive records in key earnings measures show part of the company's performance during the quarter, while the forecast to return more than $40 billion highlights the scale of expected distributions in 2026. Completion of the USI deal remains one of the announced activity items included in that forecast.