Executive Summary
Why Now?
The current market turning point is a great opportunity for Blackstone. Coming off an extended duration marked by flat mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and initial public offering (IPO) activities, capital markets are exhibiting strong signs of recovery, prompted by declining inflation and the forthcoming decrease in interest rates. This evolution is the main trigger for unleashing Blackstone's record $6.6 billion in net accrued performance revenues - an impressive source of unrealised earnings. At the same time, challenging fundraising conditions over the last 24 months have caused a "flight to quality" in institutional investor demand, consequently directing a flow of funds toward scaled, multi-product platforms like Blackstone. This dynamic has facilitated the firm to deploy its $181 billion in "dry powder" into a less congested market environment at better valuations, consequently building foundations for the next generation of returns whilst reinforcing its market leadership in an even greater sense.
Three Key Findings
Dominant Scale in a Secular Growth Market: Blackstone's status as the global leader in alternative asset management, with $1.2 trillion in managed assets, represents an unmatched source of competition. The industry is experiencing a structural flow of funds from public to private markets, set to grow from approximately $18 trillion to approximately $29 trillion in 2029. Blackstone's leadership is being fortified by a "winner-take-most" dynamic as investors are increasingly focusing their relationships in reputable, scaled platforms.
Resilient, High-Quality Financial Model: The company's earnings are supported by a growing foundation of stable, recurring Fee-Related Earnings (FRE), which in Q2 2025 reached $1.5 billion, representing 31% YoY growth. This is a stable foundation and supports the dividend, with the cyclic Distributable Earnings (DE) component providing substantial upside as exit markets come back. The extension of business lines into perpetual capital vehicles ($485B in AUM) adds additional earnings quality and predictability.
Falling into a Realisation Super-Cycle: A record $6.6 billion in net accrued performance revenues is sitting on the balance sheet, or approximately $5.37 per share. With thawing M&A and IPO markets, monetisation of unrealised gains is by far the greatest near-term earnings and shareholder distributions' catalyst. Acceleration in realisations is anticipated exiting 2025 and continuing into 2026 by management.3
Investment Thesis
Blackstone is a core investment in companies seeking exposure to private market long-term growth. Its unparalleled scale and diversified platform, including private equity, real estate, credit, and multi-asset solutions, have built a strong financial model where stable Fee-Related Earnings (FRE) create a steady foundation, and a large reservoir of built-in performance revenues offers a significant upside potential as global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and capital markets recover. The most recent phase defined by a scarcity of capital and volatile markets has amplified Blackstone's scale advantages, fueling a "flight to quality" among Limited Partners, which further cements its leadership in its market and fosters compelling deployment opportunities. With a record-breaking $181 billion in available capital, the firm is well positioned to acquire high-quality assets at disciplined prices. Normalisation of the exit environment, fostered over the next 12 to 24 months, is the key catalyst, allowing Blackstone to unlock a record $6.6 billion in net accrued performance fees and spur a potential Distributable Earnings and cash return to shareholders increase.
Valuation
Blackstone always trades at a premium relative to its peers, a reflection of its advantaged scale, diversified platform, and high-caliber earnings. Standard Price-to-Earnings (P/E) multiples are oftentimes misstated by mark-to-market volatility; thus, a Price-to-Distributable-Earnings (P/DE) ratio or a sum-of-the-parts analysis provides a better accuracy-based evaluation framework. The stable, annuity-like income stream of Fee-Related Earnings warrants a higher multiple, whereas the cyclic revenue stream has significant latent value. Presently, at a P/E ratio of about 49.6x, it is trading ahead of its five-year average of about 39.7x and the industry median, a premium justified by its leadership and growth potential.
PLEASE NOTE: Including a "5-Year Average of Forward EPS Growth" in the valuation summary for Blackstone is inadvisable because the metric is both statistically misleading and practically unobtainable. The extreme volatility inherent in Blackstone's GAAP earnings, which are driven by the timing of large and irregular asset sales, means that any historical average is inevitably skewed by outlier years, for example the massive +442.0% growth reported in 2021, rendering the figure non-representative of the company's true underlying growth path. For a credible forward-looking analysis, it is standard practice to omit this metric and focus exclusively on the current, consensus-driven Forward EPS Growth forecast, which is a far more relevant and stable indicator for valuation.
However, Blackstone is a centerpiece strategic asset in portfolios focused on growth, which provide liquid exposure to the secular growth of private markets, often underweight in public indexes. The financial profile of the stock includes a stable, dividend-generating component (based on FRE) and a high-torque, cyclic component related to capital markets (corresponding to DE), hence a distinct risk-return profile. The asset is a complement to current exposures in traditional technology and financials. I am personally favoring an Overweight position relative to the sector of Financials in the S&P 500, gradually building a position to capitalise on potential weakness in the market.
Major Risks & Mitigants
Capital Markets Downturn: A prolonged "risk-off" market mood would put back investment exits by IPOs or M&A, deferring crystallisation of attractive performance revenues and affecting distributable earnings.
Mitigant: The Company has a large and growing base of stable Fee-Related Earnings (FRE) that is contractual in nature and non-timing dependent. This feature provides a significant and stable earnings buffer to offset performance fee fluctuations.
Severe Global Recession: A significant economic slowdown could negatively impact the valuations of underlying portfolio companies and slow down the pace of fundraising, as institutional clients face their own liquidity issues.
Mitigant: Blackstone's thematic emphasis on resilient sectors characterised by secular tailwinds, such as digital infrastructure, energy transition, and logistics, offers a protective buffer. Moreover, its extensive private credit division frequently retains floating-rate debt, which can serve as a hedge during an environment of rising interest rates that commonly precedes an economic slowdown.
Step Up in Regulatory Focus: The private equity sector is constantly at risk of further regulation, particularly in matters of fees and possible negative amendments to the tax status of carried interest.
Mitigant: The unprecedented size of Blackstone gives the firm a high-level global compliance platform and significant resources dedicated to policy advocacy, in turn facilitating it in navigating and forecasting regulatory developments ahead of its smaller peers.
Pressure of Insider Selling: There has been quite notable insider selling over recent months, which does need to be watched closely, as it could be interpreted by the market as being a weak signal about future returns or valuation.
Mitigant: Despite such sales, the founders and long-serving executives continue to hold a substantial ownership in the company. Such a structure creates a strong "skin in the game" situation, hence aligning their interests with long-term public holders.
Important forward indicators I'm tracking: