Apollo Posts Q3 Loss as Fee Earnings and Origination Hit Records

Apollo Global Management reported a third-quarter GAAP net loss as higher interest rates produced unrealized investment losses in its retirement-services business, while its underlying fee earnings, assets under management and origination activity reached record levels.

The alternative asset manager posted a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $1.06 billion, or $1.78 per share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2026. That compared with net income of $1.71 billion, or $2.78 per diluted share, a year earlier. Apollo said the latest loss was driven primarily by unrealized mark-to-market losses on certain Retirement Services investments.

Adjusted net income, Apollo’s main non-GAAP earnings measure, was $1.29 billion, or $2.07 per share, compared with $1.36 billion, or $2.17 per share, in the prior-year quarter. Excluding notable items associated with Athene’s annual actuarial assumption review, adjusted net income was $1.34 billion, or $2.15 per share.

Total revenue fell to $4.74 billion from $9.82 billion a year earlier, reflecting a $3.42 billion investment-related loss in Retirement Services and a $188 million investment loss in Asset Management. Net investment income in Retirement Services increased to $5.70 billion from $5.01 billion.

Fee earnings and assets reach records

Fee related earnings rose 23% year over year to a record $802 million, or $1.28 per share. Fee-related revenue increased 20% to $1.37 billion, while the FRE margin expanded by 160 basis points to 58.4%.

Management fees grew 18% to $1.02 billion. Apollo attributed the increase to growth at Athora following its acquisition of Pension Insurance Corporation, third-party institutional fundraising and continued organic growth at Athene. Capital solutions fees and other revenue advanced 37% to a record $290 million across approximately 115 transactions, with credit accounting for about 60% of activity and equity for the remainder.

Apollo ended the quarter with $1.07 trillion in assets under management, up 18% from a year earlier. Fee-generating AUM rose 28% to $880 billion. Perpetual capital represented 60% of total AUM and 70% of fee-generating AUM.

Gross inflows totaled $53 billion in the quarter and $270 billion over the preceding 12 months. Asset Management contributed $35 billion of quarterly inflows, supported by institutional credit strategies, flagship private-equity fundraising, Athora and Global Wealth. Retirement Services generated $19 billion, led by retail sales and funding-agreement issuance.

Origination reached a quarterly record of $114 billion, bringing the trailing-12-month total to $356 billion. Gross capital deployment was $117 billion for the quarter and $444 billion over the same 12-month period.

Retirement earnings reflect higher funding costs

Reported spread related earnings declined 3% year over year to $844 million, or $1.35 per share. Excluding notable items, SRE increased 7% to a record $909 million, supported by net organic growth and higher alternative net investment income.

Athene’s alternative portfolio generated a 10% return during the quarter. Apollo said applying management’s long-term expected average annual return of 11% would have produced an additional $54 million of alternative investment income, while cautioning that the expected return may not be achieved.

The reported net spread narrowed to 1.06% from 1.24% a year earlier as the cost of funds increased. Excluding notable items, net spread was 1.14%, down seven basis points year over year and unchanged from the second quarter. Average net invested assets rose 13% to $318.29 billion.

Athene recorded $18.75 billion of gross organic inflows and $5.43 billion of net flows during the quarter. Retail inflows were $10.36 billion, while funding agreements contributed $6.24 billion. Apollo described the period as Athene’s third-largest quarter for retail volume, including record registered index-linked annuity sales.

Apollo said 98% of Athene’s $240 billion available-for-sale fixed-income portfolio was designated investment grade. The portfolio’s average annual credit losses over the five years through 2025 were 11 basis points, compared with the 12-basis-point industry figure cited in the presentation.

Realizations support principal investing income

Principal investing income increased 4% to $52 million. Realized performance fees climbed 80% to $362 million, reflecting private-equity realizations, including from Fund X, and performance-based revenue from financing activity. The benefit was largely offset by higher realized principal-investing compensation.

Performance fee-eligible AUM increased 16% to $355 billion, while performance fee-generating AUM rose 3% to $220 billion. Apollo had $82 billion of dry powder at quarter-end, including $65 billion with future management-fee potential.

Investment results varied across strategies. Hybrid Value generated a 4.7% gross quarterly return and Asset-Backed Finance returned 1.7%, while Flagship Private Equity declined 2.6%. Net accrued performance-fee receivables were broadly stable at $1.51 billion.

Capital returns and outlook

Apollo repurchased $143 million of common stock during the quarter, including $68 million intended to substantially offset dilution and $75 million of opportunistic repurchases. Over the last 12 months, the company returned $1.5 billion to stockholders through dividends and opportunistic buybacks while allocating $748 million to strategic investments intended to support future growth.

The company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.5625 per common share, payable November 30 to stockholders of record on November 18. Future dividends remain subject to board approval.

Chief Executive Marc Rowan said record pipelines and business momentum positioned Apollo for what management expects to be a robust close to 2026 and a strong setup for 2027. The presentation did not provide quantified forward guidance.

Apollo identified risks including interest-rate movements, inflation, market conditions, geopolitical developments, fundraising and fund performance, revenue and cash-flow variability, leverage, competition and regulatory changes. Retirement Services also faces risks tied to Athene’s financial-strength ratings, reinsurer obligations and operating in a heavily regulated industry.