The Carlyle Group (CG) Q1 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Achieved record first-quarter results with Fee Related Earnings (FRE) of $311 million, up 17% year-over-year, a 48% FRE margin, distributable earnings of $455 million, and assets under management (AUM) of $453 billion, up 6% year-over-year.

• Net income attributable to common stockholders was $130 million for Q1 2025, or $0.35 per diluted share, with a 17.6% pre-tax margin.

• Revenue rose 41% year-over-year to $973.1 million, driven by higher management fees and a rebound in performance allocations.

• $50 billion in inflows over the past year, including $14 billion in the first quarter, and $84 billion in dry powder available for new investments.

• Declared a $0.35 per share quarterly dividend, with $0.7 billion remaining under the $1.4 billion repurchase authorization.

Financial highlights

• Fund management fees increased 12% year-over-year, with transaction and portfolio advisory fees more than tripling to $76.7 million.

• Distributable Earnings reached $455 million ($1.14 per share post-tax), and Fee Related Earnings hit a record $311 million.

• Realized Net Performance Revenues were $127 million in Q1 2025, with Net Accrued Performance Revenues at $2.7 billion.

• Inflows totaled $14.2 billion, and deployment was $11.1 billion for the quarter.

• Operating cash flow (excluding consolidated funds) was $164.2 million, with $1.2 billion in cash and equivalents at quarter-end.

Outlook and guidance

• Management remains confident in meeting 2025 financial targets and navigating market cycles, citing $84 billion in dry powder and a scalable global platform, but acknowledges market uncertainty and volatility from global trade policy shifts.

• Expect management fees to increase in Q2 as new real estate fund fees are activated.

• Fundraising target of $40 billion for 2025 includes insurance flows; $14 billion raised in Q1.

• Dividend policy maintained at $1.40 per share annualized, subject to Board discretion.

• Anticipates opportunities in private credit and secondaries as traditional lending channels retreat and liquidity needs rise.