KKR earnings: third quarter 2026

KKR, the private-markets investment firm, had a record quarter in its steady fee business: fee-based profit rose 27% and its own adjusted earnings per share climbed to $1.78 from $1.41. Reported earnings per share also rose, to $1.19 from $0.90. Behind the records, new money from clients came in much more slowly than a year ago, and part of the fee growth comes from a change in how one type of fee is counted. For the year, KKR expects to hand back more than $40 billion to its fund clients, far above its usual pace. ¹

Against what analysts expected

Analysts expected earnings per share of $1.41 on average (Nasdaq's earnings calendar). KKR's reported figure was $1.19 and its own adjusted figure was $1.78. The forecast sits closer to the reported figure, so that is the one it is set against, and it came in about 16% below. ¹²

The strong points

• KKR's fee related earnings, the steady profit it makes from managing clients' money, hit a record $1.3 billion, up 27% on a year ago. ¹
• KKR's own adjusted earnings per share rose to $1.78 from $1.41 a year ago, a record by its count. ¹

The weak points

• New money raised from clients fell to $25.2 billion, against $42.6 billion in the same quarter last year. ¹
• About $220 million of the fee profit comes from fees on KKR's K-Series private equity funds that used to be counted in another line, and last year's figures were not restated. ¹
• Profit from the insurance business fell to $230 million from $305 million, though most of that fall comes from the yearly review of the assumptions behind its policies. ¹

What the company expects

• KKR expects to hand back more than $40 billion to its fund clients in 2026, which it says would top its previous yearly record by more than half. ¹
• KKR has $75 billion of money clients have committed that does not yet pay fees, and it says the fees on it will start once the money is invested. ¹

Our verdict on the quarter

A mixed report. Record fee profits and clearly higher earnings made for a strong quarter in the business, but reported earnings per share came in well below what analysts expected and new money from clients slowed sharply.

The results as published

• The results release itself
• The filing it came with (SEC)
• The previous results, for what it forecast then

Notes

1. KKR's results release, 9 November 2026: sec.gov. ↩
2. Nasdaq's earnings calendar, 9 November 2026. ↩