Blue Owl Capital (OWL) Q4 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Achieved record fundraising in 2025, raising $56 billion, including $17 billion in Q4, with equity fundraising up over 50% year-over-year to $42 billion and institutional equity fundraising up 80% to $24.7 billion.

• Assets under management (AUM) surpassed $300 billion in Q4 2025, ending the year at $307.4 billion, a 22% increase since December 31, 2024, driven by capital raised and the IPI Acquisition.

• Investment performance across strategies remained robust, with net lease and digital infrastructure strategies outperforming benchmarks and strong direct lending returns.

• Diversified product offerings and global distribution contributed to record institutional equity fundraising and significant expansion in private wealth products.

• Maintained high liquidity and low leverage, meeting all investor redemption requests during periods of market volatility.

Financial highlights

• Q4 2025 fee-related earnings (FRE) were $416.6 million ($0.27 per share), up 22% year-over-year; distributable earnings (DE) were $382.5 million ($0.24 per share), up 21% year-over-year.

• Full year 2025 FRE was $1,496.5 million ($0.96 per share), up 19%, and DE was $1,309.1 million ($0.84 per share), up 16%.

• Declared a Q4 dividend of $0.225 per share and set a 2026 annual fixed dividend of $0.92 ($0.23 per quarter).

• Management fees for the year were $2,521.9 million (GAAP) and $2,532.6 million (FRE), up 26% and 24% year-over-year, respectively.

• FRE margins ended 2025 at 61.6%, up from 58.9% in Q4 2024, with 12% FRE per share growth.

Outlook and guidance

• Targeting modest FRE margin expansion to 58.5% in 2026 and aiming to accelerate FRE per share growth in 2027.

• Expect 2% share count growth in 2026, mainly from digital infrastructure acquisition and stock compensation.

• Effective tax rate for 2026 expected in the mid- to high single-digit percentage range.

• Dividend payout ratio to be reduced from 107-108% in 2025 toward a target of 85% over time.

• AUM not yet paying fees totals $28.4 billion, expected to generate $326 million in annual management fees once deployed.