Brookfield Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

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Brookfield (NYSE:BN) reported a stronger first quarter for fiscal 2026, with management pointing to continued fundraising momentum, resilient operating cash flows and growth in its Wealth Solutions business as key drivers of results.

Chief Executive Officer Bruce Flatt said the company generated distributable earnings of $1.6 billion for the quarter and $6 billion over the last 12 months. He said Brookfield’s asset management business benefited from continued fundraising across institutional clients, while operating businesses produced stable cash flows and Wealth Solutions continued to scale globally.

“We had a strong start to the year,” Flatt said, adding that the business “will get stronger over the year.”

Distributable Earnings Rise as Fundraising Continues

President Nick Goodman said distributable earnings before realizations totaled $1.4 billion, or $0.59 per share, in the quarter, up 7% from the prior-year period. Over the last 12 months, distributable earnings before realizations were $5.5 billion, or $2.32 per share. Total distributable earnings, including realizations, were $1.6 billion, or $0.66 per share, for the quarter and $6 billion, or $2.54 per share, over the last 12 months.

Brookfield’s asset management business generated $765 million of distributable earnings, or $0.32 per share, in the quarter, and $2.8 billion, or $1.20 per share, over the last 12 months. Goodman said the company has raised $67 billion of capital so far this year, including $21 billion during the quarter, a $40 billion investment mandate from Just Group and $6 billion for its seventh flagship private equity strategy.

Fee-bearing capital ended the quarter at $614 billion, up 12% from a year earlier. Fee-related earnings increased 11% to $772 million. Goodman said Brookfield is “well positioned to deliver a record year of fundraising in 2026.”

The quarter also included a gain on the partial monetization of a technology investment, which generated about $120 million of distributable earnings. Goodman said Brookfield owns a focused portfolio of investments in new businesses, technology and innovation, including an approximately $1 billion investment in SpaceX at the pre-IPO mark, as part of a $2 billion total investment.

Real Estate and Operating Businesses Show Resilience

Brookfield’s operating businesses generated distributable earnings of $360 million, or $0.15 per share, for the quarter and $1.5 billion, or $0.65 per share, over the last 12 months. Goodman said operating funds from operations in infrastructure, private equity and energy increased 19% from the prior-year quarter.

Management emphasized improving fundamentals in real estate, particularly in high-quality assets. Goodman said the company’s Super Core and Core Plus real estate portfolios are more than 95% occupied, with new leases being signed at rents materially above expiring levels.

During the quarter, Brookfield’s retail portfolio had 1.6 million square feet of leases commence at rents 11% above prior levels. In office, the company signed 2.6 million square feet of leases globally, with average net rents 15% above expiring levels. That included 227,000 square feet of U.S. leases at rents more than double expiring levels and 761,000 square feet in Canada at rents 30% higher.

Flatt highlighted Manhattan West as an example of what he described as the value of owning high-quality real estate through cycles. He said it would cost about $2,500 per square foot to build the same building today, compared with Brookfield’s cost of just over $1,000 per square foot. He also said a recent financing of Two Manhattan West produced about $400 million of net cash and involved a $1.9 billion, 10-year non-recourse mortgage with a 5.5% coupon.

Wealth Solutions Expands With Just Group Acquisition

Sachin Shah, chief executive officer of Brookfield Wealth Solutions, said the business has become a global investment-led insurance platform with $180 billion of assets focused on retirement, wealth solutions and protection. Brookfield closed its acquisition of Just Group, a U.K. pension risk transfer and annuity platform, on April 1.

Flatt said the Just acquisition added $40 billion of insurance assets and strengthens Brookfield’s position in the U.K. retirement market. Shah said the transaction added approximately GBP 40 billion of assets and was acquired at an expected going-in return of approximately 10% to 12% on $1 billion of invested capital.

Shah said Just has operated for more than 20 years and serves approximately 700,000 U.K. pensioners across institutional and retail policies. He said Just currently has the ability to write about GBP 5 billion of pension flows annually, with Brookfield aiming to support growth through capital and investment capabilities.

For the quarter, Brookfield Wealth Solutions generated distributable earnings of $430 million, or $0.18 per share, and $1.7 billion, or $0.71 per share, over the last 12 months, up 11% from the prior-year period. Goodman said the results were supported by $4 billion of annuity inflows during the quarter and the continued rotation of the portfolio into higher-yielding investment strategies.

Shah said the insurance business originated about $5 billion of sales across long-dated retail annuities, funding agreement-backed products and pensions during the quarter. He said the business expects to write around $25 billion of new policies in 2026 across retail and institutional annuity channels, while remaining disciplined on returns.

Corporate Simplification and Capital Allocation

Goodman said Brookfield is working toward combining the corporation and its Wealth Solutions business into a fully integrated insurance and investment organization. He said the company expects the boards of directors of BN and Brookfield Wealth Solutions to conduct a final review in the coming weeks. Subject to approvals, Brookfield intends to seek shareholder approval at annual meetings scheduled for July 16.

Goodman said combining the businesses would provide insurance operations with greater access to approximately $145 billion of incremental capital from Brookfield’s permanent capital base, enhancing flexibility and capital efficiency.

During the quarter, Brookfield returned $598 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Goodman said that year-to-date, Brookfield and Brookfield Asset Management have repurchased more than $1 billion of shares, including $470 million of BN shares and $575 million of BAM shares.

The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share, payable at the end of June to shareholders of record as of the close of business on June 15, 2026.

Management Addresses Market Volatility and Outlook

Flatt said Brookfield is monitoring macroeconomic developments such as geopolitics, trade, inflation and interest rates, but added that such issues often receive more attention than their long-term impact warrants. He said the company focuses on cash flows, reinvestment opportunities and resilient business models.

Management also discussed investment themes including artificial intelligence infrastructure, energy demand and data sovereignty. Flatt said Brookfield’s long-standing focus on digitalization, decarbonization and deglobalization is aligned with current demand for data centers, power generation, domestic infrastructure and supply chain resilience.

In response to analyst questions about pressure on alternative asset manager share prices from concerns around private credit and software, Goodman said those issues are not systemic and are immaterial asset classes for Brookfield. He said the company has “no software exposure” and that its credit portfolio is performing “incredibly well.”

Goodman also said Brookfield remains committed to the Middle East despite regional conflict, describing the area as a core part of the company’s long-term business and saying current volatility has not changed its stance.

Looking ahead, Goodman said Brookfield expects financial momentum to continue through the balance of 2026, with realizations expected to increase in the second half of the year.

About Brookfield (NYSE:BN)

Brookfield Corporation (NYSE:BN) is a global alternative asset manager that specializes in real assets. The company invests in and operates businesses across real estate, infrastructure, renewable power and energy, private equity and credit. Its activities span both ownership and active management of physical assets as well as the operation of investment funds and vehicles that provide institutional and retail investors access to long‑lived, cash‑generating assets.

Brookfield's services include asset management, direct investing, property development and the operation of infrastructure and energy businesses.

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