Strengthened by the growth in private credit and secondary market investments, Carlyle finds added support.
In the wake of the departure of Kewsong Lee, private equity giant Carlyle Group is showing strong signs of growth and resilience. The firm's latest financial results for Q2 2025 underscore this momentum, with a substantial increase in revenue and net income compared to the same period last year.
Strong Financial Performance
Carlyle posted impressive Q2 2025 results, with revenue of $1.57 billion and net income of $319.7 million. These figures represent a significant year-over-year increase, signaling a robust financial performance.
Robust Fundraising Momentum
The firm also attracted $13.4 billion in fresh commitments during Q2 2025. This strong fundraising momentum extends beyond traditional private equity, with significant contributions coming from Carlyle's private credit and secondaries platforms.
High-Quality Exits and Strong Private Equity Performance
Carlyle's buyout funds realized nearly $15 billion over the last twelve months, representing 17% of their portfolio and delivering returns about three times the industry average. This indicates high-quality exits and strong private equity performance.
Diversified Business Lines and Growing Assets Under Management
Despite some near-term concerns regarding elevated expenses and debt, Carlyle’s consistent growth in assets under management (AUM), revenues, and diversified business lines (including private equity, real estate, credit, and wealth management) position it well for long-term growth and capital distribution to shareholders.
Stock Performance and Analyst Recommendations
Carlyle's stock has recently reached a 52-week high, reflecting investor optimism about its prospects following strong earnings and a leadership transition. Moreover, more than half of the analysts who rate Carlyle shares now recommend the stock as a buy.
AlpInvest's Performance and Notable Exits
The latter unit, AlpInvest, reported a more than 50% jump in revenues from the previous year. Carlyle also exited several large investments, including stakes in aviation group StandardAero and aerospace parts maker Forgital.
Improved Financial Metrics
The improvement was driven by higher management fees across credit and secondary stakes businesses. Carlyle's quarterly fee-based earnings rose 18% from the previous year to $323mn. The global private equity business of Carlyle generated fees that slipped less than 1%.
Exceeding Expectations and Maintaining Momentum
Carlyle pulled in $13.4bn of new commitments in the second quarter, exceeding the analysts' forecasted $10.5bn of inflows. The pace of inflows slowed marginally from the first quarter, but the firm continues to maintain its fundraising momentum.
Rebounding Stock Performance
Carlyle's stock performance has rebounded in the past 12 months, with the company's shares returning more than 50% over the past year, ahead of the S&P 500's 23% gain.
New Leadership
Chief executive Harvey Schwartz joined the company in 2023 after a long tenure at Goldman Sachs. Under his leadership, Carlyle's assets under management rose to $465bn.
In summary, Carlyle continues to demonstrate robust private equity realizations and fundraising alongside evolving business diversification and operational discipline after Kewsong Lee’s departure. This underpins a positive outlook for its private equity segment and overall business.
- Carlyle's new CEO, Harvey Schwartz, has been instrumental in the firm's continued growth, with the assets under management rising to $465bn after his tenure at Goldman Sachs.
- Alongside strong private equity performance, Carlyle has also excelled in real estate, as evident by nearly $15 billion in significant exits over the last twelve months.
- The private equity giant has also been investing in diversified business lines, such as private credit, secondaries, and wealth management, to sustain its long-term growth and capital distribution to shareholders.
