Blackstone Inc.
BX · NYSE
Next quarter
Expected to report Jan 28, 2027 — estimated from last year’s reporting date.
Consensus is $1.71 EPS for Dec 2026 across 9 estimates, ranging $1.54 to $1.85.
BX Sep 2026
- 4.76%
- $1.26
- $1.32
- —
- —
Highlights
- Distributable earnings: DE was $1.72 billion, or $1.32 per share, beating the supplied $1.26 consensus by 4.8%; DE fell 9% year over year and 13% from Q2.
- Fee earnings: Fee Related Earnings were $1.57 billion, or $1.26 per share, up 6% year over year; LTM FRE reached $6.4 billion, or $5.20 per share.
- Fundraising and AUM: Quarterly inflows were $63.3 billion and LTM inflows were $271.6 billion; total AUM reached $1.368 trillion, up 10% year over year.
- Realizations: Realizations were $33.1 billion in the quarter, while net realizations were $331.5 million, down 34% year over year, weighing on DE; management expects a significant increase in net realizations in Q4.
- Investment performance: Infrastructure appreciated 6.4% in the quarter and 28.9% LTM; corporate private equity gained 2.8% and 14.7%, respectively, while opportunistic real estate declined 3.2% and 4.0%.
- 2027 outlook: Management expects double-digit year-over-year growth in base management fees in 2027, supported by new private equity funds, perpetual strategies, credit and insurance, and BXMA.
- GAAP results: Revenue was $3.06 billion, down 0.8% year over year and 39% sequentially; net income was $1.27 billion versus $1.24 billion a year ago and $1.23 billion in Q2. GAAP diluted EPS was $0.83.
- Shareholder return: Blackstone declared a $1.12 per-share dividend, payable November 9; it repurchased 0.2 million shares during the quarter.
Analysis
Blackstone’s third quarter combined a modest beat on the supplied per-share consensus with stronger recurring fee earnings and a year-over-year decline in distributable earnings. DE was $1.72 billion, or $1.32 per share, 4.8% above the $1.26 consensus; the release identifies that $1.32 as DE per share, while GAAP diluted EPS was $0.83. Revenue of $3.06 billion was nearly flat against $3.09 billion a year ago but down from $5.04 billion in Q2. GAAP net income rose to $1.27 billion from $1.24 billion year over year and $1.23 billion sequentially. DE declined 9% year over year and 13% from Q2, as lower net realizations offset recurring earnings growth.
The defining positives were FRE of $1.57 billion, up 6% year over year, and $63.3 billion of inflows, which helped lift AUM 10% to $1.368 trillion. Performance was uneven: infrastructure and several private equity strategies posted gains, while opportunistic real estate fell. Management pointed to a significant Q4 step-up in net realizations and expects double-digit base management fee growth in 2027. The quarter therefore showed growing scale and recurring fee capacity, but also the continuing sensitivity of DE to the timing of exits and performance realizations.
Fee earnings and DE
FRE increased 6% year over year to $1.57 billion, or $1.26 per share, as net management and advisory fees rose 6% to $2.16 billion and fee-related performance revenues increased 19% to $540 million. Compensation and operating expenses also grew, limiting FRE growth. DE was $1.72 billion, or $1.32 per share, down from $1.89 billion and $1.52 per share a year earlier; compared with Q2, DE fell from $1.98 billion and $1.52 per share. Lower net realizations were the principal drag. LTM FRE was $6.4 billion, while LTM DE was $7.7 billion.
- Consensus comparison: The supplied consensus was $1.26 per share; reported DE per share of $1.32 was a 4.8% beat.
- GAAP context: Revenue was $3.06 billion versus $3.09 billion a year ago and $5.04 billion in Q2. GAAP net income was $1.27 billion, attributable net income was $662 million, and diluted EPS was $0.83.
Fundraising and AUM
Inflows of $63.3 billion in the quarter brought LTM inflows to $271.6 billion. Total AUM rose 10% year over year to $1.368 trillion, and fee-earning AUM increased 9% to $989.7 billion. Perpetual capital AUM reached $562.3 billion, up 12%; $469.5 billion of it was fee-earning, equal to 47% of fee-earning AUM. Credit & Insurance led quarterly inflows with $35.8 billion, followed by Private Equity at $12.6 billion and Multi-Asset Investing at $8.6 billion. Deployment was $30.1 billion, with another $17.0 billion committed but not yet deployed; realizations were $33.1 billion.
- Credit & Insurance: AUM reached $480.0 billion, up 11% year over year; inflows included $16.5 billion for insurance separately managed accounts and $11.9 billion for global direct lending.
- Private Equity: AUM rose 18% to $465.4 billion, with $12.6 billion of quarterly inflows.
- Multi-Asset Investing: AUM increased 22% to $113.9 billion; the Absolute Return Composite returned 0.5% gross for the quarter, versus a 0.8% decline for the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index.
Realizations and outlook
Net realizations were $331.5 million, down 34% year over year, and total segment DE declined 4% to $1.90 billion. This followed management’s prior indication that Q3 realizations would be lower. The accrued performance balance, a source of potential future realizations, was $7.3 billion, or $5.84 per share, down 3% from Q2 but up 12% year over year after $655 million of net distributions. Management said Q4 net realizations should rise significantly: carry realizations on sales under contract alone were expected to exceed Q3’s total net realizations. It also expects double-digit year-over-year base management fee growth in 2027, citing new drawdown-fund fees, expansion in perpetual strategies, credit and insurance growth, and BXMA momentum.
Investment performance
Performance supported fundraising across much of the platform, though real estate remained mixed. Infrastructure appreciated 6.4% in Q3 and 28.9% over the LTM; corporate private equity gained 2.8% and 14.7%, respectively. Tactical Opportunities returned 2.2% for the quarter and Secondaries 4.3%. In Credit & Insurance, private credit returned 2.6% gross and 1.8% net in the quarter, while liquid credit returned 1.5% gross and 1.4% net. Opportunistic real estate declined 3.2% in the quarter and 4.0% LTM, while Core+ appreciated 1.6% and 4.3%. Management attributed weakness in opportunistic real estate to higher valuation cap rates, partly offset by leasing momentum and hedges.
Capital return and liquidity
The quarterly dividend was set at $1.12 per share, payable November 9 to holders of record November 2. Dividends and repurchases totaled $1.5 billion for the quarter and $6.7 billion over the LTM; the firm repurchased 0.2 million shares in Q3 and had $1.6 billion of authorization remaining. At September 30, Blackstone reported $13.2 billion of cash, corporate treasury and other investments, and $23.5 billion of cash and net investments, or $18.91 per share. Outstanding debt at par was $13.1 billion.
