The Carlyle Group (CG) Q3 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Total assets under management (AUM) reached $474 billion as of September 30, 2025, with $332 billion in fee-earning AUM, driven by $17 billion in organic inflows and strong fundraising across all segments.

• Fee Related Earnings (FRE) were $312 million, up 12% year-over-year, and Distributable Earnings (DE) were $368 million ($0.96/share), both showing robust growth.

• Net income attributable to common stockholders was $0.9 million for Q3 2025, down sharply from $595.7 million in Q3 2024, mainly due to a significant decrease in performance allocations.

• Significant capital raised across Global Wealth, Insurance Solutions, and Carlyle AlpInvest, supporting momentum into year-end and 2026.

• Issued $800 million of 5.050% senior notes due 2035 and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share.

Financial highlights

• Q3 2025 fund management fees increased 9% year-over-year to $583.3 million, driven by new fund launches and incremental fundraising.

• Total revenues for Q3 2025 were $2.88 billion, with total expenses of $2.36 billion; net income before provision for income taxes was $86 million, margin 25.8%.

• Compensation and benefits expense for Q3 2025 was negative $17.7 million, reflecting reversals of previously accrued performance allocations and related compensation.

• FRE margins remained robust at 48% for Q3 and year-to-date, exceeding last year's record of 46%.

• Quarterly dividend declared at $0.35 per share.

Outlook and guidance

• Management expects to exceed updated full-year FRE growth target of ~10% and full-year inflows of $50 billion, with strong momentum into Q4 and 2026.

• Continued growth in fee-earning AUM is anticipated, supported by strong fundraising in evergreen wealth products and new fund launches.

• FRE growth expected to remain strong despite some headwinds from catch-up fees and fee rate step-downs.

• The company remains optimistic about private market fundamentals and capital deployment opportunities despite ongoing market volatility.