Blackstone (BX) just reminded everyone why it's the heavyweight champion of alternative asset management. The firm reported fourth-quarter distributable earnings per share of $1.75, up 4% from last year and comfortably ahead of the $1.53 analyst consensus. Total distributable earnings came in at $2.24 billion, up 3% year-over-year.
The real story here is the momentum. Blackstone pulled in $71.5 billion in inflows during the quarter—the strongest quarterly performance in over three years—pushing total assets under management up 13% to $1.27 trillion. That's trillion with a T.
Segment revenues hit $3.94 billion, down 5% year-over-year but still beating expectations of $3.72 billion. Fee-related earnings dropped 16% to $1.54 billion, though the picture varied wildly across business lines. Real estate fee-related earnings jumped 39%, while credit and insurance rose 14%. Private equity, however, took a 52% hit, and multi-asset investing slipped 4%.
Net accrued performance revenue climbed to $6.74 billion from $6.28 billion in the prior-year quarter, another sign that Blackstone's investments are generating real returns for clients.
