KKR & Co. Inc.

Business description

KKR & Co. Inc. (KKR) is a leading global alternative asset manager operating across Private Equity, Real Assets, Credit & Liquid Strategies, Capital Markets, and Principal Activities, complemented by its Global Atlantic insurance business. The firm has realigned Private Equity into a Strategic Holdings segment alongside Asset Management and Insurance.

Key financials

• Price: $95.97 (as of close on 07/23/2026)
• 12-Mo Target: $125.00 (CFRA Buy)
• Market Cap: ~$87.19B
• Operating EPS 2026E: $6.30
• Operating EPS 2027E: $7.50
• Trailing P/E: 18.82
• Dividend Yield: 0.82%
• H-Score: 12 (TBI multi factor score from 07/20/2026 CSV) — notably weak vs peers

Competitive moat

Scale and durability across global alternatives with deep, long-standing LP relationships (pensions, sovereign funds, insurance). The integrated model — combining fundraising, deployment, and monetization across PE, credit, real assets, and insurance — creates a compounding fee flywheel. Strategic Holdings (perpetual capital) and Global Atlantic insurance provide recurring, sticky fee revenue.

Recent developments

• Monetization Inflection: Management expects accelerating PE realizations in 2H 2026, extending into 2027. Q1 2026 monetization revenue ~$880M; realized carried interest $720M (+120% Y/Y). Healthy pipeline across fund strategies and regions.
• Private Credit Momentum: One of its largest credit fundraising quarters — inflows more than doubled Q/Q, with inbound institutional interest in direct lending amid BDC dislocation.
• Arctos Acquisition: Closed strategic acquisition of Arctos Partners ($15B AUM, sports investing), establishing KKR Solutions and a scaled multi-asset secondaries platform (100B+ AUM).
• AUM Doubled: PE AUM doubled over five years; strategic & perpetual capital reached $389B (+15% Y/Y in Q4 2025). Fee-related earnings $3.7B in 2025 (+14% Y/Y).
• Capital Return: May 2026 dividend $0.195/share; disciplined balance-sheet deployment.

Investment risks / red flags

• ⚠️ Very Low H-Score (12): TBI multi factor score sits at the bottom of the covered universe — reflective of elevated valuation/quality concerns vs. peers despite strong fundamentals.
• Investment Cycle Sensitivity: Earnings/cash flow are variable due to carried interest and incentive fees; illiquid Level III assets dominate. A downturn, lower fundraising, or poor fund performance could trigger redemptions.
• Global Atlantic Drag: Insurance segment may flatten operating earnings near-term as it shifts to higher-return alternatives with narrower annuity spreads amid competition.
• Regulatory & Key-Person Risk: Fiduciary role exposes KKR to regulatory change across all jurisdictions; senior talent turnover is an operating risk.

H-Score signals

• TBI multi factor score: 12 (CFRA recommendation: Buy, 4-STARS). Note: H-Score reflects quantitative factor model, not CFRA's fundamental Buy rating — divergence flagged per wiki protocol.

Theme exposure

• [[Financials]]
• [[Private Equity]]

Related

• [[Financials]]
• [[Blackstone Inc.]]
• [[Brookfield Corporation]]