How does kkr & co., inc. make money?

kkr & co., inc. generates $19.5B in annual revenue (annual revenue · revenue declined -11.0% last year).

What is KKR's XVARY composite score?

kkr & co., inc. (KKR) has an XVARY composite score of 59/100, rated below average. This combines growth, value, risk, and momentum factors.

KKR — kkr & co., inc. stock analysis

Start here if you're new

what it is

KKR manages money for institutions and lends through private credit, public credit, and financing deals.

how it gets paid

Last year Kkr & made $19.5B in revenue.

why growth slowed
Revenue fell 11.0% last year. Revenues probably reached $1.68 billion, aided by strength in management fees and fundraising activity.

what just happened

KKR beat estimates as quarterly adjusted EPS came in at $1.41 versus $1.30 consensus.

At a glance

A balance sheet — strong enough to weather a downturn

60/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable

29.4x trailing p/e — priced about right

0.9% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter

5.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about

xvary composite: 59/100 — below average

What they do

KKR manages money for institutions and lends through private credit, public credit, and financing deals.

Assets under management → money clients hand over to invest → $637.6B. When your capital sits inside that pool, it buys deal access smaller firms cannot match. 23.8% insider ownership means management owns almost a quarter of the stock, so they feel the same price swings you do.

general large-cap asset-manager private-credit alternatives

How they make money

$19.5B annual revenue · revenue declined -11.0% last year

total revenue

$19.5B

11.0%

The products that matter

capital raising and fund formation

Fundraising

$129B raised in 2025

this is the number that mattered. $129B is the highest annual capital raise in KKR's 50-year history, which supports future fee revenue.

record year

asset base that generates fees

Assets under management

$686B aum

a $686B asset base gives KKR scale. in human terms: more assets generally mean more recurring management fees.

scale moat

retail-oriented fundraising channel

Private wealth products

$32B platform

private wealth products now total over $32B. that's still smaller than the institutional machine, but it's one of the clearer growth lanes on the page.

growth lane

Key numbers

$171

18-month target

That is 28% above $133.97. You are paying for upside, not a discount.

$637.6B

AUM

AUM means client money under management. $637.6B gives KKR a fee base rivals hate.

29.4x

trailing P/E

P/E means price divided by trailing profit. 29.4x says the market is paying up.

1.65

beta

Beta means market swing. 1.65 means the stock tends to move 65% more than the market.

Financial health

A

strength

balance sheet grade A — very strong financial position
risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
price stability 40 / 100
net profit margin 54.4% — keeps 54 cents of every dollar in revenue

A — among the top-rated companies for balance sheet quality.

Total return vs. market

You invested $10,000 in KKR 3 years ago → it's now worth $25,550.

The index would have given you $14,770.

same period. same starting point. KKR beat the market by $10,780.

source: institutional data · total return

What just happened

beat estimates

KKR beat estimates as quarterly adjusted EPS came in at $1.41 versus $1.30 consensus.

Revenue was $5.5B, up 148% vs. prior year. still has FY2025 EPS at $5.10 and FY2026 EPS at $5.20, so the quarter did not break the longer thesis.

$5.5B

revenue

$1.41

eps

8.5%

surprise

the number that mattered

The $1.41 adjusted EPS print mattered most. It beat the $1.30 consensus by about 8.5%, underscoring execution against expectations.

kkr likely posted solid fourth-quarter results.

revenues probably reached $1.68 billion, aided by strength in management fees and fundraising activity. the alternative asset manager likely benefited from robust institutional demand for private market investments. however, earnings were probably affected by a one-time clawback charge related to its asia ii private equity fund, which was disclosed during the third-quarter conference call.
overall, we estimate adjusted net income reached $1.36 per share during the december period.
we expect kkr to deliver improved performance in 2026.
the company should benefit from fundraising momentum, having recorded its secondhighest quarter for capital inflows in q3 2025.

assets under management have climbed to $686 billion, and management fees should expand, driven by strong market performance. the suite of private wealth products now totals over $32 billion, representing a significant growth driver.
credit strategies are experiencing record inflows.

source: EDGAR and Yahoo Finance consensus, 2026

What could go wrong

the top threat is regulatory scrutiny around deal disclosures and dealmaking. for KKR, reputation isn't cosmetic — it's part of the fundraising engine.

!

high

eu review tied to alleged misleading information

flagged jul 24, 2025. if regulators push further, the damage is not just legal cost — it's fundraising credibility.

current risk tagging flags $2.9B–$4.9B of revenue exposure

!

high

doj pressure on private-equity dealmaking

flagged jan 24, 2025. the wording in source data is thin, but the message is clear: tougher antitrust review can slow transactions and reduce realizations.

current risk tagging flags $2.9B–$4.9B of revenue exposure

∘

med

2026 recovery may arrive slower than the market wants

kkr is being valued on scale, fundraising, and a rebound story. if fee growth disappoints after the 11.0% revenue drop, that premium multiple gets harder to defend.

current risk tagging flags $1.9B–$2.9B of revenue exposure

three identified risks. current flagged revenue exposure starts around $2.9B, but the bigger issue is whether any regulatory hit slows future fundraising.

source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis

Pay attention to

metric

fundraising staying near the 2025 pace

$129B raised in 2025 is the page's best fact. if that pace fades, the premium valuation has less to stand on.

trend

whether aum keeps compounding from $686B

aum growth matters because it feeds future fees. if assets stall while revenue stays volatile, the story gets harder.

risk

regulatory noise around disclosures and deal approvals

source data already flags eu and doj scrutiny. for a manager that sells trust, reputational damage can travel faster than the legal process.

calendar

the next earnings print after q4's return to growth

q4 revenue rose 3.8% from a year ago. you want to see if that was the start of a cleaner trend or just one better quarter.

Analyst rankings

earnings predictability

60 / 100

earnings are only moderately predictable. in human-speak, expect the numbers to swing more than a plain-vanilla asset manager.

risk rank

3

roughly middle-of-the-pack safety. this isn't fragile, but it isn't a bunker stock either.

price stability

40 / 100

the stock moves around. that's normal for a company whose reported revenue and realizations can be noisy.

source: institutional data

Institutional activity

institutions have been net buying for 3 consecutive quarters — 705 buyers vs. 508 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.5B shares. net buying for 3 quarters.

source: institutional data · 1q2025-3q2025

source: institutional data

Price targets

3-5 year target range

$103 $238

$134 current price

$171 target midpoint · +28% from current · 3-5yr high: $238

source: institutional data · analyst targets

The deep dive

KKR

xvary deep dive

kkr

the full analysis is in the works.

what you'll get

dcf valuation model

bull / base / bear scenarios

competitive moat breakdown

quarterly earnings tracker

operating model projections

risk matrix with kill criteria

original price target + conviction

updated with every earnings

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