Aug 4, 2026 earnings call — Momentum from origination and capital formation
Apollo reported total adjusted earnings of $1.3 billion, led by record fee-related earnings of $785 million and record spread-related earnings of $877 million.
Revenue $11.2B (est $5.6B) · EPS $2.11 (est $2.16)
Key quotes
"As you know, we believe that almost everything starts with origination. Origination here was a very strong quarter, $74 billion."
"Capital formation, record for the quarter at $60 billion of organic inflows, $38 billion in asset management, $22 billion in Athene."
"We went live with estimated daily value, estimated daily NAV on 7/1 for our entirety of our fixed income investment-grade suite of asset products."
Analyst Q&A 14
transaction fee durability
Q (Steven Chubak · Wolfe): Analyst asked how durable ACS transaction fees are, given strong momentum and origination pipelines, and how revenue may grow medium to long term.
A: Management said they see durable, broad origination that fuels multiple revenue streams across the firm. They said every business is contributing originations and partnerships that create upside, while they aim to build a durable base they can invest against.
"Look, we believe that this earnings stream has more value than is generally appreciated." — Martin Kelly (CFO)
M&A strategy
Q (Craig Siegenthaler · BofA): Analyst asked for an update on M&A at the Apollo corporate level and at Athene/Athora, and whether deals like PIC could be repeated in Europe or Asia.
A: Management said they are generally not inclined to buy other asset managers because acquisitions often add a similar business and create people issues. They prefer using capital to expand into adjacent businesses that provide recurring fees and diversify revenue.
"As you know from prior quarters, we have not been big proponents of asset manager M&A." — Marc Rowan (CEO)
daily NAV and capital pools
Q (Alexander Blostein · Goldman Sachs): Analyst asked what new pools of capital daily NAVs on private credit could open for Apollo and others.
A: Management said daily pricing and market making let fixed income investors treat private instruments more like securities, reducing liquidity and pricing barriers. They said this could bring traditional fixed income, 401(k), DC, and individual investors into private allocations and reduce the risk premium over time.
"The fixed income manager at a large institutional client does not think of fixed income as a locked-up investment." — Marc Rowan (CEO)
monetizations and annuity competition
Q (Glenn Schorr · Evercore): Analyst asked why monetizations were slow and how Apollo beat competition in retail annuities despite many new entrants.
A: Management said many new entrants only bring capital and lack origination, liability generation, OpEx and seasoned management, so they struggle to earn stable spreads. They said Apollo competes in channels where those weaknesses matter and relies on origination strength to earn spreads and meet returns.
"Almost everyone who's come to this marketplace does not have anything other than capital." — Marc Rowan (CEO)
expense outlook and margin
Q (Michael Brown · UBS): Analyst asked if Apollo can keep expanding margins while investing in tech, daily pricing, market making, distribution and headquarters.
A: Management said yes, they plan to deliver about 20% FRE growth over the cycle, driven by mid- to high-teens revenue growth and low double-digit to low-teens expense growth. They said investment prioritization is anchored to that planning rubric and they will seek cost efficiencies including AI.
"And so everything we do as we prioritize our investment spending is anchored around that." — Martin Kelly (CFO)
regulatory arbitrage impact
Q (Patrick Davitt · Autonomous): Analyst asked how meaningful cleaning up offshore regulatory arbitrage would be and how much spread pressure those players caused.
A: Management said industry and regulators are acting to end offshore arbitrage and require reciprocal onshore standards, which will raise capital costs for those players. They said this will reduce unfair pricing pressure and that dispersions in funding costs show how little spread some entrants accept to enter the business.
"What we saw over the past week is a series of proposals that really talk about nonreciprocal jurisdictions." — Marc Rowan (CEO)
Athora/PIC returns outlook
Q (William Katz · TD Cowen): Analyst asked for an update on Athora and PIC integration and whether they expect improved returns toward targets.
A: Management said PIC closed with a substantial fundraise and they believe Athora is set up for mid-teens returns, after earlier overhead was folded into operations. They added the PIC integration is smooth and early signs like a $6 billion pension deal support a growing pipeline.
"So I am -- it is not guaranteed, but I am optimistic that we are now set up for mid-teens rates of return on our Athora investment, and that's the basis on which we raised the dough successfully in pretty large quantity." — Marc Rowan (CEO)
ICE JV and private credit trading
Q (Brian Bedell · Deutsche Bank): Analyst asked about addressable market, trading momentum, and whether MarketAxess deal matters for ICE; and how it affects ACS revenue.
A: Management said trading is early but momentum is strong and volumes increased fivefold recently; they expect this utility to be part of the ecosystem for transparency and daily pricing. They said it's unlikely to move 2026 FRE/SRE materially but could be meaningful in 2–3 years and will touch ACS.
"The good thing is we're well above -- ahead of everybody else." — James Zelter (PRESIDENT)
Athene spread expectations
Q (Benjamin Budish · Barclays): Analyst asked implied expectation for normalized net spread and how to think about it into 2027.
A: Management said current portfolio behavior is normal and they expect spreads to stay in the range they've provided. They advised to stick to the range until they provide an update.
"I would expect that, that will be maintained as we look into next year." — Martin Kelly (CFO)
Fund XI timing and fundraising
Q (Brennan Hawken · BMO): Analyst asked timing of Fund XI first close and fee activation, and whether fundraising headwinds affect expectations.
A: Management said Fund XI had a strong initial raise of about $12 billion and that fee activation timing depends on when the fund is fully invested, which they plan for in the back part of the first half. They said fundraising is tough for some managers but Apollo's track record and production are driving strong institutional demand.
"The timing of the fund sort of quite -- to turning on fees ultimately depends on when Fund X is fully invested." — Martin Kelly (CFO)
deploying conservative securities
Q (Wilma Jackson Burdis · Raymond James): Analyst asked whether there are timing constraints on deploying conservative assets like Treasuries to match liabilities and generate spread uplift.
A: Management said there are no constraints and that these assets are not used as part of their asset-liability matching program. So they can deploy them as needed to generate spread uplift.
"No, there are no constraints. We don't use it as part of ALM." — Marc Rowan (CEO)
tokenization and evergreen funds
Q (Michael Cyprys · Morgan Stanley): Analyst asked what Apollo learned from tokenization experiments and whether tokenization could be as important as ETFs for private markets.
A: Management said experiments are ongoing and lessons are still being learned; they see potential but it's early. They noted operational and regulatory limits matter and they will work within existing systems while continuing to explore future delivery mechanisms.
"I think there is a lot of operational and regulatory limitations that you have to be very careful about." — James Zelter (PRESIDENT)
wealth flows and adviser conversations
Q (Crispin Love · Piper Sandler): Analyst asked about recent wealth flows, redemption trends, ADS levels, and adviser discussions amid market noise.
A: Management said their products have had strong recent performance and they are gaining share; redemptions are about half of what they were last quarter for onshore/offshore windows. They said thoughtful advisers see the performance and Apollo continues to educate and dialogue regionally.
"So I think that's what the thoughtful investors and thoughtful FAs are seeing." — James Zelter (PRESIDENT)
Athene origination inflow progress
Q (Bart Dziarski · RBC): Analyst asked for detail on flow, reinsurance, funding agreements and whether they remain on track for the $85 billion inflow target and outlook for 2027.
A: Management said they are on track: $42 billion in the half and $85 billion for the full year, which aligns with their 5-year messaging. They said the quarter's mix reflected where pricing was attractive and they expect similar pacing for the rest of the year.
"We're right on track for the year, $42 billion for the half, $85 billion for the full year." — Martin Kelly (CFO)