Apollo Global Management

Apollo is a large alternative asset manager. It has three segments. Asset Management raises and manages credit and equity funds for pension funds, insurers, sovereign wealth funds and individual investors, and it earns fees. Retirement Services is Athene, which sells annuities and other retirement products and invests the money, mostly in investment grade credit, to earn a spread.

Principal Investing holds the realized performance fees and Apollo's own investments. Apollo had about $1.05 trillion of assets under management at June 30, 2026. In September 2025, Apollo bought Bridge Investment Group, a real estate manager, for stock. Apollo measures its results with fee related earnings (FRE), spread related earnings (SRE) and adjusted net income.

The market fears that private credit will have more losses and more withdrawals, and that Athene's spread will become smaller. Apollo is one of the largest managers of private credit, and Athene holds much of it. In its Q2 2026 report, Apollo said that redemption requests increased across the industry in perpetual non-traded business development companies, which slows the growth of these products. Total AUM had $7.3 billion of redemptions in Q2 2026, compared with $1.4 billion a year earlier.

At Athene, the cost of funds rose faster than investment income, and SRE for the first half of 2026 was $1.60 billion, down from $1.63 billion a year earlier. For the gap to close, three things must be true. FRE must keep growing near the 25% rate of Q2 2026, from new inflows and the Bridge and Athora fees. SRE must stay stable or grow as Athene adds new annuity business.

Credit losses in Apollo's funds and in Athene's portfolio must stay small. The Q3 2026 report on November 3, 2026 gives the next test. Apollo estimated alternative net investment income of about $375 million for Q3 2026, up from $348 million in Q2. If these checks pass, the gap can close over the next four to six quarters.

The main reason it may not close is a credit cycle that causes losses in private credit, because that hurts both the fees and Athene's capital.

1. Nov 3, 2026Pending

   Q3 2026 earnings: fees and spreadFRE growth near 20% or more from a year earlier, SRE at or above the $877 million of Q2 and no large credit losses pass; falling SRE, large redemptions or credit write-downs fail.
2. Feb 3, 2027 · est.Pending

   Full-year 2026 report and 2027 targetsRecord FRE for 2026, stable Athene capital ratios and targets for 2027 that keep the growth plan pass; lower targets or a rise in credit losses fail.

Every passed and failed checkpoint across all picks

Apollo reports two businesses with separate balance sheets. The figures show only the asset management business. Read more

• Apollo and Athene hold large amounts of private credit. A recession or a rise in defaults can cause losses in the funds, lower performance fees and reduce Athene's capital. Private credit assets are also harder to value than traded bonds.
• Redemption requests increased across the industry in perpetual non-traded business development companies in 2026. Apollo's total AUM had $10.5 billion of redemptions in the first half of 2026. More withdrawals can slow the growth of fee paying AUM.
• Athene earns a spread between its investment income and its cost of funds. In the first half of 2026, the cost of funds grew 23% while fixed income and other net investment income grew 19%. Lower interest rates, more competition for annuities or more surrenders can reduce SRE.
• Athene is a regulated insurer in the United States and Bermuda. Changes in capital rules or tax rules can reduce its returns. In Q1 2026, a Bermuda tax change caused a $1.7 billion charge.

• October 5, 2026Apollo estimated alternative net investment income of about $375 million before tax for Q3 2026, an annualized return of about 10%. It said it will publish its Q3 2026 results on November 3, 2026.
• August 7, 2026Athene issued $1.0 billion of 6.150% senior notes due 2036.
• August 4, 2026Apollo reported Q2 2026 results. FRE was a record $785 million, up 25% from a year earlier. SRE was $877 million, up 7%. Adjusted net income was $1.31 billion and GAAP net income attributable to Apollo was $1.34 billion. Inflows were $59.7 billion in the quarter. Apollo declared a dividend of $0.5625 per share.