Blackstone's Q4 Earnings Beat, Stock Gains as AUM Touches Record High

Blackstone’s BX fourth-quarter 2024 distributable earnings of $1.69 per share outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.46. The figure reflects a jump of 52% from the prior-year quarter.Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.Shares of the company gained almost 2% in the pre-market trading. Better-than-expected results fueled by solid assets under management (AUM) growth drove investor optimism about the stock.Results benefited from higher revenues and an improvement in AUM balance. However, an increase in GAAP expenses was a headwind.Net income attributable to Blackstone was $703.9 million compared with $151.8 million in the year-ago quarter.For 2024, distributable earnings per share of $4.64 beat the consensus estimate of $4.41 and grew 17% year over year. Net income attributable to Blackstone was $2.78 billion compared with $1.39 billion in 2023.BX’s Segment Revenues Increase, GAAP Expenses RiseTotal segment revenues for the reported quarter were $4.15 billion, surging 64% year over year. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.79 billion. On a GAAP basis, revenues were $3.08 billion, jumping substantially from $1.29 billion in the prior-year quarter.For 2024, total segment revenues were $11.65 billion, up 20% year over year. The top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.28 billion. On a GAAP basis, revenues were $13.23 billion, soaring 65%.Total expenses (GAAP basis) were $1.5 billion, which surged 59% year over year.As of Dec. 31, 2024, Blackstone had $9.7 billion in total cash, cash equivalents and corporate treasury investments, and $19.1 billion in cash and net investments. The company has a $4.3-billion undrawn credit revolver.Blackstone’s AUM Balance RisesFee-earning AUM grew 9% year over year to $830.71 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024.The total AUM amounted to $1.13 trillion, up 8%. The rise in total AUM was primarily driven by $57.5 billion in inflows in the reported quarter.As of Dec. 31, 2024, the undrawn capital available for investment was $168.6 billion.BX’s Share Repurchase UpdateDuring the reported quarter, Blackstone repurchased 0.3 million shares. As of Dec. 31, 2024, $1.8 billion worth buyback authorization remained available.Our Take on BlackstoneBlackstone is well-poised for top-line growth, supported by a continued rise in AUM. The company is expected to keep gaining from its fund-raising ability. However, high expenses and a challenging operating backdrop are expected to hurt the bottom line in the near term. Blackstone Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Blackstone Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Blackstone Inc. QuoteCurrently, Blackstone carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Performance of BX’s PeersInvesco’s IVZ fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of 52 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 49 cents. Moreover, the bottom line increased 10.6% from the prior-year quarter.The results primarily gained from a decline in adjusted expenses and higher adjusted net revenues. An increase in AUM balance on decent inflows was a positive for IVZ.BlackRock’s BLK fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $11.93 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.44. The figure reflects a rise of 23.5% from the year-ago quarter.BLK’s results benefited from a rise in revenues. AUM witnessed robust growth and touched the $11.55 trillion mark driven by net inflows, partially offset by market depreciation and negative forex impact. However, higher expenses and lower non-operating income acted as headwinds.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Blackstone Inc. (BX): Free Stock Analysis Report BlackRock (BLK): Free Stock Analysis Report Invesco Ltd. (IVZ): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks