KKR reported higher revenue and net income as insurance investment income rose, and recorded more compensation expense.

In the three months ended June 30, revenue rose 12.5% to $5.7 billion, while net income climbed 37.3% to $700.5 million. Net margin widened to 12.2% from 10.0%, a 2.2-percentage-point improvement. The result was higher revenue, net income and net margin.

The less tidy detail is the cost of running that machine. Stock compensation rose 30.1% to $225.9 million, lifting its share of revenue by 3.9%. KKR grew the top line, but equity pay grew more quickly.

Management attributed the insurance business’s improvement to more assets under management, investment realizations, and higher portfolio yields, which lifted investment income. The company also said lower market rates reduced interest expense on floating-rate debt held in consolidated CLOs and certain funds.

KKR laid out the insurance math this way:

"Three Months Ended ($ in thousands) June 30, 2026 June 30, 2025 Change Net Investment Income $ 1,953,987 $ 1,788,525 $ 165,462 Net Cost of Insurance (1,468,887) (1,326,980) (141,907) General, Administrative and Other (196,880) (183,613) (13,267) Insurance Operating Earnings $ 288,220 $ 277,932 $ 10,288 Net Investment Income Net investment income increase d for the three months ended June 30, 2026 , as compared to the three months ended June 30, 2025 , primarily due to (i) increased average assets under management from the cumulative impact of new business volume growth, (ii) realization of investments, and (iii) higher average portfolio yields due to repositioning the portfolio into higher yielding fixed maturity debt securities and investments in alternative asset classes, such as real assets."

KKR, Form 10-Q, Aug. 6, 2026

Investment income grew by more than the insurance unit’s operating earnings as the costs of insurance and general administration rose too. KKR says the increase in net cost of insurance reflected the cumulative impact of new business volume and higher crediting rates. The associated insurance costs were a larger offset to the income line.

The compensation disclosure adds another piece to the same trade-off. KKR said the increase came from new equity grants, higher discretionary cash compensation, and higher accrued carried-interest compensation tied to higher carried-interest income.

"The increase in compensation and benefits during the three months ended June 30, 2026 , compared to the three months ended June 30, 2025 , was primarily due to (i) a higher level of equity-based compensation related to new equity grants in the current period, (ii) a higher level of discretionary cash compensation, and (iii) a higher level of accrued carried interest compensation driven by a higher level of carried interest income earned in the current period."

KKR, Form 10-Q, Aug. 6, 2026

That is not a simple cost-cutting story. Some of the higher compensation tracks the higher carried-interest income KKR says it earned. The accounting result is still plain: compensation expanded faster than revenue even as net margin improved.

The annual record supplies some context without smoothing out the bumps. Revenue fell 11.0% in 2025 to $19.5 billion after reaching $21.9 billion in 2024, and annual net margin was 12.2%. The latest three months show a stronger profit period, but not a business whose revenue line has moved in one direction.

KKR’s next quarterly report will provide the next clean comparison: whether investment income continues to rise alongside net cost of insurance, and whether compensation remains ahead of revenue growth.

More assets, higher yields, higher pay: KKR’s three-month period had a bigger engine and a bigger payroll.

Source: KKR Form 10-Q filed Aug. 6, 2026.