KKR & Co. (NYSE:KKR) leadership used the company's first-quarter earnings call to emphasize confidence in its long-term strategy despite recent market volatility.
Co-CEO Scott Nuttall pointed to recent share price swings as a strategic opportunity, noting that the firm has been able to take advantage of what it views as a meaningful disconnect between market price and intrinsic value through share buybacks.
"Our suggestion is don’t trust the headlines,” Nutall said. “Stay focused on the fundamentals and how we are executing.”
KKR's fee-related earnings per share were up 23% year-over-year, driven primarily by strong management fee growth and a diversified fee base.
Within KKR’s asset management segment, strong monetization activity boosted investing earnings, with realized performance income exceeding $750 million and realized investment income reaching roughly $120 million, for a total of about $880 million—more than 50% higher than in Q1 2025.
Craig Larson, partner and head of investor relations, explained that public secondary sales, strategic transactions, and dividend and interest income drove the increase.
Private Credit
KKR claims that institutional demand and market dislocation more than doubled inflows quarter over quarter. The firm's credit strategy raised $15 billion in Q1, pushing asset-based finance assets under management (AUM) above $90 billion
"Given the current sentiment around private credit, it may be surprising that when you look at new capital raised, excluding GA, this was one of our larger credit fundraising quarters," said KKR CFO Rob Lewin.
"Most recently, over the last few weeks, we’ve received meaningful inbound interest from institutions around our direct lending business, with several viewing the current dislocation as an interesting entry point given the redemption activity that exists today in the private BDC space," he added.
During the quarter KKR saw the final close of its North America Fund XIV at $23 billion, well above its previous fund, which raised $19 billion. Lewin noted that KKR has $46 billion of total capital to invest across the vintage.
Lewin noted that while performance remains strong, reduced visibility makes it more likely that earnings could come below the expected $7 per share.
KKR has “modestly less visibility today” than what the firm’s budget would have suggested at this point in the year, Lewin said.
It's more likely that KKR's share price will come in below $7 in the near term. However, any investment gains or asset sales that don't happen in 2026 aren't gone—they're just pushed into 2027 or later, he explained.
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