Blackstone posted third quarter distributable earnings of $1.72 billion, down 9.2%, equal to $1.32 a share and ahead of the $1.26 consensus tracked by Bloomberg. Shares dipped before the open in New York, then reversed to trade up as much as 4.71%, though they remained 29% lower for the year through Wednesday. CEO Steve Schwarzman told analysts, "While our shares are down meaningfully, our earnings have grown nearly 50%, with commensurate growth in our dividend."
President Jon Gray said market swings slowed the IPO calendar and kept deal activity subdued, noting "There was a fair amount of volatility in the quarter and in markets, and that showed up in slowing the IPO market a bit and muted transaction activity as well." Real estate distributable earnings fell 10% and private equity dropped 7% in the quarter. Infrastructure was the bright spot, returning 6.4%, supported by firm demand for data center leases, plus solid performance in logistics and hotels.
The credit and insurance unit, Blackstone's largest by assets, grew distributable earnings 4% to $433 million after two straight quarterly declines. That business generated more than half of the firm's $63.3 billion in net new money during the quarter ended September. Gray said, "There's been no private credit apocalypse," adding that inflows to the Blackstone Private Credit Fund remain "muted" and "will get better with time."
Blackstone finished September with $228.9 billion of unspent capital, including $46.9 billion earmarked for real estate and $91.5 billion set aside for private equity. During the quarter, the firm deployed $30.1 billion, forming Falcata by merging two earlier purchases and taking a noncontrolling interest in five power facilities under construction by pipeline giant Williams Cos., amid surging electricity needs from data centers. Exits totaled $33.1 billion. Looking ahead, Gray forecast a robust fourth quarter and full year: "We just have a lot of momentum across a number of different areas in the business."
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In plain English: higher rates made deals harder, but Blackstone's funding base keeps growing. AUM climbed 10% to $1.37 trillion even as distributable earnings eased and deployment hit a year low. The firm's large cash to invest, steady credit engine, and a rebound in the stock during the session sit alongside slower real estate and private equity earnings. The bottom line: watch how that $228.9 billion dry powder and infrastructure tailwinds translate into realizations and earnings from here.
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