Third-quarter earnings beat forecasts at KKR

(Sharecast News) - Private equity giant KKR posted a surge in quarterly earnings on Monday, as assets under management topped $800bn. The New York firm saw total operating earnings rise to $1.7bn in the third quarter, up from $1.4bn a year previously, following a 27% spike in fee-related earnings to $1.3bn.

Adjusted net income jumped 29% to €1.6bn, or $1.78 per share, comfortably beating Wall Street forecast for $1.59 a share.

AUM, meanwhile, improved 11% to $804bn.

In a joint statement, co-chief executives Joseph Bae and Scott Nuttall said: "For the second consecutive quarter, KKR is reporting record fee-related earnings, total operating earnings and adjusted net income per share.

"We continue to monetise investments and return capital to our clients at record levels. In 2026 we expect to return more than $40bn to our clients, exceeding our previous annual record by more than 50%."

Assets sold during the quarter include the CoolIT Systems, which specialises in data centre cooling systems, and private aviation infrastructure platform Atlantic Aviation. The $17bn sale of USI Insurance Services to Aon is expected to close it the current quarter.

Shares in KKR were up 1% in pre-market trading as at 1330 GMT.