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Apollo vs. KKR & Co.: Which Asset Manager Offers Better Upside Now?
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Key Takeaways
Apollo is seen as offering more upside thanks to its diversified model and sustained AUM momentum.
KKR grows AUM and revenues through added strategies and a majority stake in a biopharma royalty firm.
Apollo trades at a lower forward P/E than KKR, while both companies increased dividends in May 2025.
Apollo Global Management (APO - Free Report) and KKR & Co. Inc. (KKR - Free Report) are two of the most well-known players in the asset management industry, each with a strong track record in private equity, credit, and infrastructure investing. Both firms have benefited from rising asset under management (AUM) and revenue growth. Yet, their business models, growth strategies, and market positioning differ in ways that could impact their future upside.
Let’s closely examine other factors at play for KKR and APO to determine which stock has more upside potential.
The Case for Apollo
Apollo’s diverse business model ensures sustainable earnings. The company’s diversified AUM across various asset classes, client bases, and geographies offers support. Its AUM balance witnessed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8% over the past three years (2021-2024). The increase in AUM is primarily driven by the growth of its retirement services client assets, subscriptions across the platform, and new financing facilities. The momentum continued in the first nine months of 2025. In September 2025, Apollo completed the acquisition of Bridge Investment, which is expected to be accretive to Apollo’s fee-related earnings and nearly doubles its real estate AUM to more than $110 billion. By 2029, Apollo expects its total AUM to reach almost $1.5 trillion by scaling its private equity business.
Apollo is a high-growth asset management firm with strategies dedicated to investing in companies with solid growth potential. In September 2025, Apollo acquired Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc. to strengthen its real estate investment platform and support long-term fee-based revenue growth. In January 2025, the company agreed to acquire Argo Infrastructure Partners, which will deepen its Origination and Asset Management capabilities in fast-growing sectors and strategically align with its long-term growth objectives. In September 2024, Apollo and Citigroup (C - Free Report) inked a deal to establish a $25-billion private credit, direct lending program. In the same month, State Street Corp.’s asset management business, State Street Global Advisors, announced its partnership with Apollo and its affiliates to enhance investors' accessibility to private market opportunities. Through these partnerships and buyouts, Apollo is expanding its capabilities and market share.
On the financial side, Apollo has demonstrated robust organic growth. Revenues expanded at a 63.7% CAGR (2021-2024), with the rising trend continuing in the first nine months of 2025. The expansion of retail channels through Athene, alongside strong inflows, positions Apollo for continued revenue gains across Asset Management and Retirement Services.
The Case for KKR
KKR & Co.’s total AUM has been witnessing improvement over the years. The metric saw a five-year (2019-2024) CAGR of 23.9%, with the rising trend continuing in the first nine months of 2025. Going forward, the company’s efforts to improve and add investment strategies continue to support AUM growth. In July 2025, KKR & Co. closed a majority stake in HealthCare Royalty Partners, a middle-market biopharma royalty acquisition company, adding nearly $3 billion to its AUM. At its 2024 investor day held in April, the company laid out a plan to scale its core businesses as it aims to reach at least $1 trillion in AUM by 2030. The company intends to build on its existing asset management, insurance, and strategic holding units to reach the milestone.
On the revenue side, KKR has maintained steady organic growth, with total segment revenues witnessing a 16.3% CAGR (2019-2024), with the rising trend continuing in the first nine months of 2025. This was supported by its expansion in traditional private equity as well as diversification into infrastructure, real estate, growth equity, and core investing. This month, KKR announced a multi-year partnership with Sallie Mae. Through this multi-year partnership, KKR will acquire an initial seed portfolio of private education loans from Sallie Mae, followed by purchases of at least $2 billion in newly originated private education loans each year over an initial three-year period. These moves have broadened KKR’s opportunity set, boosted deal activity, and strengthened its revenue base.
How do Earnings Estimates Compare for APO & KKR?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for APO’s 2025 and 2026 earnings implies a year-over-year rise of 6.2% and 16.9%, respectively. Earnings estimates for both years have been revised upward over the past month.
Estimate Revision Trend
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KKR’s 2025 and 2026 earnings implies a year-over-year rise of 8.5% and 32.8%, respectively. Earnings estimates for 2025 have remained unchanged, while for 2026, it has been revised upward over the past month.
Estimate Revision Trend
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
APO & KKR: Price Performance, Valuations & Other Comparisons
Over the past month, APO has gained 4.3% while KKR has fallen 0.2% compared with the industry’s decline of 2.2%.
Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, APO is currently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 15.36X, while KKR is currently trading at a forward 12-month P/E multiple of 20.24X. Both are trading at a premium compared with the industry average of 13.98X; however, APO stock is cheaper than KKR.
Price-to-Earnings F12M
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Additionally, both Apollo and KKR & Co. reward their shareholders handsomely. In May 2025, Apollo raised its quarterly dividend by 10.9% to 51 cents per share. It has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Similarly, KKR raised its quarterly dividend by 5.6% to 19 cents per share in May 2025. It has a dividend yield of 0.6%.
Dividend Yield
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
KKR and APO: Which Offers More Value?
While both Apollo and KKR & Co. stand out as asset management powerhouses with impressive growth trajectories, APO’s diversified business model and strong inflows from retirement services provide a clear path to sustained AUM growth. Further, Apollo’s lower forward P/E multiple, despite its faster revenue expansion and upward earnings revisions, creates a compelling valuation advantage relative to KKR. The firm’s recent acquisitions of Bridge Investment Group and Argo Infrastructure Partners significantly enhance its real estate and infrastructure exposure, boosting long-term fee-related earnings.
On the other hand, KKR continues to demonstrate strong AUM momentum, but near-term upside appears more limited due to its higher valuation and slower movement in earnings estimates.
Hence, with a better mix of growth potential, value, and capital return strength, Apollo offers more upside potential.
Image: Bigstock
Apollo vs. KKR & Co.: Which Asset Manager Offers Better Upside Now?
Key Takeaways
Apollo Global Management (APO - Free Report) and KKR & Co. Inc. (KKR - Free Report) are two of the most well-known players in the asset management industry, each with a strong track record in private equity, credit, and infrastructure investing. Both firms have benefited from rising asset under management (AUM) and revenue growth. Yet, their business models, growth strategies, and market positioning differ in ways that could impact their future upside.
Let’s closely examine other factors at play for KKR and APO to determine which stock has more upside potential.
The Case for Apollo
Apollo’s diverse business model ensures sustainable earnings. The company’s diversified AUM across various asset classes, client bases, and geographies offers support. Its AUM balance witnessed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8% over the past three years (2021-2024). The increase in AUM is primarily driven by the growth of its retirement services client assets, subscriptions across the platform, and new financing facilities. The momentum continued in the first nine months of 2025. In September 2025, Apollo completed the acquisition of Bridge Investment, which is expected to be accretive to Apollo’s fee-related earnings and nearly doubles its real estate AUM to more than $110 billion. By 2029, Apollo expects its total AUM to reach almost $1.5 trillion by scaling its private equity business.
Apollo is a high-growth asset management firm with strategies dedicated to investing in companies with solid growth potential. In September 2025, Apollo acquired Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc. to strengthen its real estate investment platform and support long-term fee-based revenue growth. In January 2025, the company agreed to acquire Argo Infrastructure Partners, which will deepen its Origination and Asset Management capabilities in fast-growing sectors and strategically align with its long-term growth objectives. In September 2024, Apollo and Citigroup (C - Free Report) inked a deal to establish a $25-billion private credit, direct lending program. In the same month, State Street Corp.’s asset management business, State Street Global Advisors, announced its partnership with Apollo and its affiliates to enhance investors' accessibility to private market opportunities. Through these partnerships and buyouts, Apollo is expanding its capabilities and market share.
On the financial side, Apollo has demonstrated robust organic growth. Revenues expanded at a 63.7% CAGR (2021-2024), with the rising trend continuing in the first nine months of 2025. The expansion of retail channels through Athene, alongside strong inflows, positions Apollo for continued revenue gains across Asset Management and Retirement Services.
The Case for KKR
KKR & Co.’s total AUM has been witnessing improvement over the years. The metric saw a five-year (2019-2024) CAGR of 23.9%, with the rising trend continuing in the first nine months of 2025. Going forward, the company’s efforts to improve and add investment strategies continue to support AUM growth. In July 2025, KKR & Co. closed a majority stake in HealthCare Royalty Partners, a middle-market biopharma royalty acquisition company, adding nearly $3 billion to its AUM. At its 2024 investor day held in April, the company laid out a plan to scale its core businesses as it aims to reach at least $1 trillion in AUM by 2030. The company intends to build on its existing asset management, insurance, and strategic holding units to reach the milestone.
On the revenue side, KKR has maintained steady organic growth, with total segment revenues witnessing a 16.3% CAGR (2019-2024), with the rising trend continuing in the first nine months of 2025. This was supported by its expansion in traditional private equity as well as diversification into infrastructure, real estate, growth equity, and core investing. This month, KKR announced a multi-year partnership with Sallie Mae. Through this multi-year partnership, KKR will acquire an initial seed portfolio of private education loans from Sallie Mae, followed by purchases of at least $2 billion in newly originated private education loans each year over an initial three-year period. These moves have broadened KKR’s opportunity set, boosted deal activity, and strengthened its revenue base.
How do Earnings Estimates Compare for APO & KKR?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for APO’s 2025 and 2026 earnings implies a year-over-year rise of 6.2% and 16.9%, respectively. Earnings estimates for both years have been revised upward over the past month.
Estimate Revision Trend
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KKR’s 2025 and 2026 earnings implies a year-over-year rise of 8.5% and 32.8%, respectively. Earnings estimates for 2025 have remained unchanged, while for 2026, it has been revised upward over the past month.
Estimate Revision Trend
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
APO & KKR: Price Performance, Valuations & Other Comparisons
Over the past month, APO has gained 4.3% while KKR has fallen 0.2% compared with the industry’s decline of 2.2%.
Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, APO is currently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 15.36X, while KKR is currently trading at a forward 12-month P/E multiple of 20.24X. Both are trading at a premium compared with the industry average of 13.98X; however, APO stock is cheaper than KKR.
Price-to-Earnings F12M
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Additionally, both Apollo and KKR & Co. reward their shareholders handsomely. In May 2025, Apollo raised its quarterly dividend by 10.9% to 51 cents per share. It has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Similarly, KKR raised its quarterly dividend by 5.6% to 19 cents per share in May 2025. It has a dividend yield of 0.6%.
Dividend Yield
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
KKR and APO: Which Offers More Value?
While both Apollo and KKR & Co. stand out as asset management powerhouses with impressive growth trajectories, APO’s diversified business model and strong inflows from retirement services provide a clear path to sustained AUM growth. Further, Apollo’s lower forward P/E multiple, despite its faster revenue expansion and upward earnings revisions, creates a compelling valuation advantage relative to KKR. The firm’s recent acquisitions of Bridge Investment Group and Argo Infrastructure Partners significantly enhance its real estate and infrastructure exposure, boosting long-term fee-related earnings.
On the other hand, KKR continues to demonstrate strong AUM momentum, but near-term upside appears more limited due to its higher valuation and slower movement in earnings estimates.
Hence, with a better mix of growth potential, value, and capital return strength, Apollo offers more upside potential.
KKR and APO currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.