Blackstone slides on private credit jitters. Is it a buying opportunity?
Even Wall Street’s financial giants aren’t immune to macroeconomic pressure.
Shares of Blackstone Inc. have slid sharply in recent months as concerns ripple through the private credit market. The stock has fallen roughly 28% in the past three months, underperforming both the broader financial sector and the S&P 500.
The drop highlights a key reality in an era of economic uncertainty where even diversified investment titans are feeling the pressure. But the underlying picture at Blackstone is more complex than one chart or headline might suggest.
Making sense of the signals
Several competing forces are shaping the company’s outlook right now, the biggest concern being investor withdrawals from the firm’s flagship private credit fund after redemption requests reached about 7.9% of assets (or roughly $3.8 billion). The move raised broader private-credit liquidity questions on top of other pressures, including:
- Rising bond yields, which make leveraged dealmaking less attractive
- Concerns about defaults in sectors like auto suppliers and subprime loans
- Shifting AI sentiment has fueled disruptions among software borrowers
Blackstone rivals like Apollo Global Management, Blue Owl Capital, and BlackRock have also seen share prices drop as private credit worries spread. And BX stock does have some powerful advantages, including $1.27T in assets under management, about $198B in “dry powder” available to invest, and a diversified business consisting of private equity, credit, infrastructure, and real estate.
Digital infrastructure has also been a bright spot in the company’s outlook. Data center operator QTS, which Blackstone acquired five years ago, was the largest contributor to its portfolio gains in 2025 as demand surged in conjunction with the AI boom.
A mixed forecast for investors
From a valuation standpoint, Blackstone doesn’t look like a bargain. The stock trades at roughly 16x forward earnings, which is well above the roughly 10x industry average. Such premium pricing makes BX more sensitive if sentiment surrounding private credit deteriorates further.
Nevertheless, institutional research remains pretty well balanced. Analysts are considering a few key metrics to gauge their assessment, including the fact that assets under management have grown about 15% per year in each of the past five years.
Wall Street still expects double-digit earnings growth this year and next year, and some firms argue Blackstone shares are currently trading well below fair value.
Finally, diversification is a major consideration. Only about one-quarter of Blackstone’s management fees come from private credit, which gives it less exposure to the current upheaval than some of its competitors.
Shares of alternative asset-management firms can fall quickly, often in tandem with rising investor anxiety regarding credit. And analysts think the recent decline in BX stock is evidence of short-term sentiment shifts rather than a fundamental collapse.
For retail investors, it’s important to remember that fundamentals matter most … and firms with deep resources tend to emerge from downturns even stronger.