What Carlyle Group (CG) Said on Its Q3 Earnings Call

Key Points

• Third-quarter distributable earnings were $433 million, or $1.12 per share, up 17% year over year, as realized performance revenue rose fivefold to $100 million.
• Carlyle expects at least $20 billion of fourth-quarter inflows and about $60 billion for the full year, more than 10% above the prior year. Nine-month fee-related earnings hit a record $950 million, and pending fee-earning assets reached $28 billion.
• Asset sales and business expansion supported the outlook: Carlyle reported nearly $6 billion in signed exit deals and growth in Global Credit and wealth-channel assets. It declared a $0.35 quarterly dividend and had $1.4 billion remaining on its share-repurchase authorization.

Carlyle Group NASDAQ: CG reported third-quarter distributable earnings of $433 million, or $1.12 per share, as a rise in realized performance revenue helped lift earnings per share 17% from a year earlier.

The alternative asset manager expects fundraising to accelerate over the coming years, with at least $20 billion of inflows projected for the fourth quarter. Chief Executive Officer Harvey Schwartz said the firm is in the early stages of a multiyear fundraising cycle, although he cautioned that the broader economic environment could affect timing.

“The question marks really are more about the macro environment, what plays out over the next three to six months,” Schwartz said.

Fees and Fundraising Outlook

Fee-related earnings were $293 million in the third quarter, with a 47% margin. For the first nine months of 2026, fee-related earnings reached a record $950 million. Chief Financial Officer Justin Plouffe said Carlyle expects full-year fee-related earnings to be the highest in its history.

Schwartz said growth in that measure for 2026 could fall slightly short of the mid-single-digit range discussed earlier in the year, depending on flows. He characterized the result as broadly in line with the company’s plan.

Carlyle raised $11 billion in the third quarter and $41 billion through the first nine months of the year. Its fourth-quarter inflow forecast includes more than $5 billion from a Fortitude reinsurance transaction with Unum Group that closed earlier in the week of the call. Plouffe said the fourth-quarter total would bring full-year inflows to about $60 billion, more than 10% above the prior year.

Total assets under management stood at $479 billion at quarter-end. Pending fee-earning assets rose to $28 billion, nearly 50% higher than a year earlier. Plouffe said those assets could generate more than $230 million in annualized management fees once fully activated, with fees generally expected to come through over 2027 and 2028.

The firm also had $94 billion of capital available for investment, including $40 billion in Global Private Equity, $32 billion in Carlyle AlpInvest and $22 billion in Global Credit.

Asset Sales Support Earnings

Net realized performance revenue was $100 million in the third quarter, five times the year-earlier level. Plouffe attributed the increase to activity across private equity and the global energy platform.

Carlyle’s Global Private Equity segment returned $24 billion to clients over the past 12 months. Schwartz said the segment’s corporate private equity business returned 21% of fair value to investors over that period, nearly double the industry average.

Plouffe said Carlyle had nearly $6 billion of signed exit deals expected to come through in the fourth quarter and 2027. The firm has approached $100 billion of realizations over the past three years, he said.

Management said those distributions have helped fundraising. Schwartz said Carlyle expects a first close for its CP IX flagship fund in the next couple of months, potentially in the fourth quarter or early in the first quarter. He confirmed that a $5 billion cornerstone commitment had already been reported in the company’s assets-under-management roll forward.

Credit and Wealth Businesses Expand

Global Credit brought in $7 billion of inflows during the quarter and ended the period with $207 billion in assets under management. Its third-quarter fee-related earnings rose 11% from a year earlier to $93 million, supported by higher management fees.

Carlyle also announced a $7.7 billion asset-backed finance transaction with Truist Financial. Plouffe said it was a fourth-quarter deal that did not require a Carlyle balance-sheet commitment.

In the wealth channel, inflows increased 24% over the last 12 months and assets under management rose 30% year over year, Plouffe said. He said Carlyle’s CPEP private equity product had crossed $1 billion in assets. Schwartz added that recent wealth-channel growth had largely come from evergreen products, with drawdown fundraising expected in 2027 and 2028.

Plouffe said private credit redemption levels were beginning to stabilize and decline across the market. Schwartz said Carlyle has been cautious about concentration in AI and data-center investments, while remaining optimistic about the technology and potential future opportunities as the market becomes clearer.

Capital Returns

Carlyle declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per common share. It repurchased or withheld 15 million shares through the first nine months of the year, including 4.5 million in the third quarter. The company said its share count had fallen about 2% year to date and that $1.4 billion remained under its $2 billion repurchase authorization.

About Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG)

The Carlyle Group Inc is a global investment firm that manages alternative assets for institutional investors, private wealth clients and other investors. The company invests across a range of strategies, including private equity, global credit and investment solutions.

Carlyle's investment activities include corporate buyouts, growth capital, real estate-related investments, private lending and other credit strategies. Through its investment platforms, the firm provides capital to companies and seeks to support business growth, operational improvement and long-term value creation across a variety of industries.

Founded in 1987, Carlyle is headquartered in Washington, DC, and serves clients and investment opportunities across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.

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