Blackstone Surpasses Profit Expectations in Second Quarter with Strong Gains

Blackstone, the world's largest alternative asset manager, surpassed profit expectations in the second quarter, fueled by robust gains in its credit and private equity arms. Shares rose by nearly 1.1% before market open, poised to turn positive for the year if the trend holds, despite tariff uncertainties weighing on the economy.

In the credit and insurance segment, asset sales reached $10 billion, while private equity brought in $7.3 billion. Blackstone has $181.2 billion in capital available for deployment, and its distributable earnings — cash that can be used to pay dividends — grew by 25% to $1.6 billion, exceeding analysts' projections of $1.10 per share.

Strong inflows, amounting to $52.1 billion, boosted Blackstone's assets under management by 13% from a year ago, reaching $1.2 trillion. The credit and insurance segment attracted over half of the inflows, highlighting Blackstone's influence in private credit as firms increasingly seek flexible financing options. Meanwhile, the private equity arm saw segment distributable earnings rise by 55% from the previous year.

(With inputs from agencies.)