Strong Distributable Earnings and Fee-Related Earnings
Distributable earnings of $327 million ( $0.89 per share) in Q1; fee-related earnings (FRE) of $300 million at a 47% margin (up from $290 million in Q4). Fund management fees were $545 million, up 4% year-over-year.
Record Realizations and Capital Returned to Investors
Realizations exceeded $12 billion in the quarter (third-best quarter ever). Returned a record $7 billion to U.S. buyout investors this quarter; the rate of return to U.S. Buyout Fund investors was more than 40% higher than the prior record set in 2021.
Carlyle AlpInvest Momentum
AlpInvest reached record AUM of $107 billion, up 20% year-over-year, with record quarterly inflows of $6.8 billion. Net accrued performance revenues were $643 million, up 13% year-over-year. FRE for AlpInvest was $68 million in Q1 despite $13 million less in catch-up fees. Wealth strategies AUM now stands at $19 billion (4x the level from three years ago).
Global Credit Growth and Strong Credit Metrics
Global Credit FRE of $93 million; management fees of $147 million, up 6% year-over-year. Total Global Credit AUM $209 billion, up 5% year-over-year, with inflows of $3.9 billion in the quarter and $25 billion of credit inflows over the last 12 months. New asset-backed finance strategy first close $1.5 billion; that strategy now tops $12 billion (up more than 30% vs last year). Credit portfolio highlights: direct lending nonaccrual rate only 1% and inception-to-date loss rate ~8 basis points per annum; structured credit default rate ~50 basis points (about half the industry average).
Deployment, New Transactions and Deal Pipeline
Deployment of $10 billion in the quarter; invested $4 billion in private credit and nearly $4 billion across AlpInvest strategies. Announced two large transactions expected to close in coming months: an $8 billion BASF coatings carve-out and a $3 billion acquisition of MAI Capital Management. Management expects increased transaction fee revenue from these deals.
Record Dry Powder and Fundraising Inflows
New capital inflows of $13 billion in the quarter. Dry powder at a record $96 billion, up 13% year-over-year. Carlyle raised nearly $7 billion in AlpInvest and $4 billion in Global Credit during the quarter.
Balance Sheet and Capital Allocation Discipline
Balance sheet assets attributable to shareholders ~ $5 billion (~$14 per share). Quarterly dividend declared at $0.35 per common share. Repurchased/withheld 3.8 million shares totaling $205 million in the quarter and have $1.9 billion remaining on a $2 billion repurchase authorization; diluted share count of 360 million is down year-over-year.
Clear Multi-Year Targets and Confidence
Management reiterated confidence in achieving or exceeding targets outlined in February: a path to $200 billion of inflows, $1.9 billion in fee-related earnings, and $6+ per share in distributable earnings (DE) by end of 2028.