KKR (KKR) FY2025 results: revenue $19.5 billion, down 11.0% on the year

KKR is a global investment firm offering alternative asset management alongside capital markets and insurance. It was founded in 1976, pioneered the leveraged buyout strategy, and has since added leveraged credit, alternative credit, infrastructure, real estate, energy, growth equity and core private equity to traditional private equity. It ran 36 offices around the world as of 31 December 2025 with approximately 4,200 employees across asset management and insurance, plus approximately 800 more in subsidiary organisations. Assets under management were $744 billion at that date, of which $219 billion comes from Global Atlantic, and these are client and policyholder assets rather than the firm's own. The three reporting segments are Asset Management, Insurance and Strategic Holdings.

Asset Management

There are five business lines: Private Equity, Real Assets, Credit and Liquid Strategies, Capital Markets and Principal Activities. The mix has moved a long way: traditional private equity was over 70% of total assets under management at 31 December 2010 and was less than 25% at 31 December 2025.

Private Equity held $229 billion of assets under management and $151 billion of fee-paying assets at the end of 2025, across traditional private equity, core private equity and growth equity, investing for long-term capital appreciation through controlling ownership or strategic non-controlling minority positions. Real Assets held $192 billion and $163 billion of fee-paying assets, across infrastructure, real estate and energy, investing for capital appreciation, current income, or both. Credit and Liquid Strategies held $322 billion and $289 billion of fee-paying assets, across leveraged credit, alternative credit and the hedge fund platform, investing in corporate debt and collateral-backed investments across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Capital Markets is a broker-dealer serving the firm itself, its portfolio companies, its insurance business and third-party customers, arranging debt and equity financing, placing and underwriting securities offerings, and arranging loan syndications and participations.

The firm is paid recurring management fees and fee-related performance revenues for investment management, transaction fees for capital markets work, transaction and monitoring fees from portfolio companies, and carried interest entitling it to a specified percentage of investment gains generated on third-party capital.

Approximately 92% of assets under management consists of capital with a duration of at least eight years at inception or longer, including what the filing calls perpetual capital, which has an indefinite term and no predetermined requirement to return invested capital once investments are realised. That perpetual pool includes vehicles registered under the Investment Company Act, certain unregistered vehicles offered to individual investors such as the K-Series, listed companies including Crescent Energy Company, and the Global Atlantic assets. KKR, its employees and other personnel had approximately $30 billion of capital invested in its own funds and portfolio companies or committed for that purpose at the end of 2025, of which approximately $15 billion was funded from the balance sheet.

Insurance

The insurance business operates under the Global Atlantic brand, selling protection, legacy and savings products and reinsurance solutions across individual and institutional markets, and serving over 3.5 million policyholders at the end of 2025. Global Atlantic was founded at Goldman Sachs in 2004 and separated as an independent company in 2013. KKR acquired a majority controlling interest of approximately 60% on 1 February 2021 and the remainder on 2 January 2024, taking ownership to 100%. Its fee-paying assets under management were $213 billion at 31 December 2025. It earns mainly a spread between the investment income generated from originated assets and the cost of benefits payable to policyholders, plus fees paid by policyholders on certain contracts and fees paid by third-party investors, the latter reported in the asset management segment.

Strategic Holdings

Reported since the first quarter of 2024, this segment acquires and manages interests in operating companies owned by the firm, today mainly the firm's participation in its core private equity strategy, and it is not limited to particular industries. As of 31 December 2025 it consisted of ownership stakes in 19 companies. The filing says the segment is expected to generate income mainly from dividends on those stakes, plus realised investment income when a stake is sold. Fees and carried interest paid by third-party investors in the core private equity funds stay in the Asset Management segment.

From KKR's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2025. The filing

Written from the 10-K filed 27 February 2026: read the full 10-K.