Blackstone Profits Nearly Double as Total Assets Set Quarterly Record

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Shares of

Blackstone

rose Thursday after total assets at the world’s biggest alternative asset manager rose to a quarterly record and profits doubled.

The New York-based investment firm reported net income of $1.4 billion, or $1.93 a share, higher than year-earlier earnings of $748.9 million, or $1.07 a share.

Blackstone (ticker: BX) was rising 6% to $118.11 in premarket trading. The stock has declined 13.9% year to date as of Wednesday’s close vs. a decline of 8.7% for the

S&P 500.

“Blackstone’s fourth-quarter results represented a remarkable finish to a record-breaking year,” said CEO Stephen Schwarzman in a statement.

Blackstone’s total assets under management grew by 42% to $880.9 billion, higher than Wall Street’s estimate of $818.6 billion and the fastest growth for the company in over a decade. Inflows during the quarter were $154.8 billion.

In the fourth quarter, distributable earnings — the cash Blackstone uses to pay shareholders — was $2.27 billion, or $1.71 a share, up from $1.46 billion, or $1.13 a share, a year earlier. Analysts tracked by FactSet expected distributable earnings of $1.8 billion, or $1.45 a share.

Last year, the stock advanced almost 100%, while the S&P 500 increased 26.89%

Write to Karishma Vanjani at karishma.vanjani@dowjones.com