Ares Q2 2026 earnings: Record fundraising exceeds $36 billion

Ares Management (NYSE: ARES) reported Q2 2026 GAAP net income attributable to the company of $150.6 million, with basic and diluted EPS of $0.49 for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. After-tax realized income was $467.6 million, or $1.29 per Class A share, while fee-related earnings reached $491.1 million and quarterly fundraising exceeded $36 billion.

Core earnings data

Ares presented GAAP net income alongside after-tax realized income, a separate performance measure. The two figures should not be treated as interchangeable, and the release did not provide the detailed reconciliation needed to explain the difference between them.

The principal quarterly earnings figures were as follows:

Record fundraising broadens the earnings base, but deployment remains the key step

Ares raised more than $36 billion during the quarter, which management described as another fundraising record. CEO Michael Arougheti attributed the inflows to consistent fund performance across the firm’s strategies. Total assets under management exceeded $671 billion as of June 30, 2026.

The firm also had a record $170 billion of dry powder. Management said Ares remained active in a slower transaction environment and was seeing a meaningful pickup in its firmwide investment pipeline. That combination provides substantial capacity to invest, but dry powder and pipeline opportunities must still be converted into completed investments before they can fully support future fee and realized-income growth.

Dividends

Ares declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share for its Class A and non-voting common stock. It is payable on September 30, 2026, to shareholders of record on September 16.

The company also declared a $0.84375-per-share dividend for its 6.75% Series B mandatory convertible preferred stock, payable on October 1 to holders of record on September 15.

Recent insider transactions

The supplied six-month insider summary showed 918,480 shares purchased across eight transactions and 3,921 shares sold in one transaction, resulting in net purchases of 914,559 shares. Total insider holdings were listed at 25.4 million shares, with net purchases equal to 3.70% of that amount.

The following table contains the latest 10 disclosures in the supplied two-year transaction list. Stock awards and gifts reported at $0 should not be interpreted as having no economic value.

These transactions are historical disclosures and do not, by themselves, establish insiders’ views about Ares’ outlook.

Risks investors should watch

• A slower transaction environment: Management said transaction activity remained slower. If that persists, the timing of new investments and realizations could lag the expansion of Ares’ pipeline.
• Deployment execution: The $170 billion of dry powder creates investment capacity but does not generate earnings on its own. Deployment pace and investment selection will determine how effectively that capital contributes to future results.
• Fundraising durability: Management directly linked record inflows to fund performance. Sustaining fundraising momentum therefore depends in part on continuing to deliver consistent results across Ares’ strategies.

Summary

Ares’ Q2 2026 results combined $150.6 million of GAAP net income with a record fundraising quarter and a large increase in available investment capacity. The central issue ahead is whether the firm can convert more than $36 billion of new inflows, $170 billion of dry powder and its expanding pipeline into deployed capital and continued earnings growth despite a slower transaction backdrop.