Covered many times over, but this is growth income, not yield. KKR's regular dividend is covered 6.6 times over by adjusted net income in fiscal 2025, and fee-related earnings alone cover it 5.6 times. The dividend has risen every year since the 2018 conversion. At 0.84% the yield sits under the 1% line, so the card is graded warn: a growth holding, not an income holding.
Key risk: Realizations drive adjusted net income: a slow deal market cuts the earnings that fund the dividend, as 2023 showed for peers.
Changes if: Adjusted net income per share falls under $1.00 in a quarter, or the $0.195 rate is cut.
- ✓DE coverage (correct base) Adjusted net income $4.87 per adjusted share vs $0.74 of dividends in FY2025 (658%); fee-related earnings $4.13 alone cover the dividend 5.6 times. Graded on distributable earnings, not free cash flow.
- ✓Dividend history Regular dividend raised every year since the 2018 C-corp conversion: $0.145 (2022) to $0.155, $0.165, $0.175, $0.185 and $0.195 (2026). No cut in the series shown.
- ✓Leverage basis Asset manager, not graded on net debt/EBITDA; $796.5bn AUM at June 30, 2026.
- !Yield / trap review Yield 0.84%, under the 1% line: a growth holding, not income. No trap pattern; the payout is covered many times over on the correct base.
What this grade doesn't say: It screens the dividend only — covered, real, compounding. It says nothing about valuation or price: a well-covered payer can still be overpriced, and its price can still fall.