As the Q2 earnings season comes to a close, it’s time to take stock of this quarter’s best and worst performers in the asset management industry, including Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) and its peers.
Asset management firms oversee investment portfolios for institutions and individuals. The industry benefits from the growing global wealth pool, retirement savings needs, and expansion into alternative investments (private equity, real estate, etc.). However, firms face significant pressure from the shift to lower-cost passive investment products, regulatory requirements for fee transparency, and increasing technology costs to stay competitive in portfolio management and client service.
The 5 asset management stocks we track reported a very strong Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 4.3%.
Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 11.7% since the latest earnings results.
Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG)
Founded in 1987 with just $5 million in capital and named after the iconic New York hotel where the founders first met, The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm that raises, manages, and deploys capital across private equity, credit, and investment solutions.
Carlyle reported revenues of $984 million, up 24.7% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 8%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ fee-related earnings estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.
Carlyle pulled off the fastest revenue growth of the whole group. Investor expectations, however, were likely higher than Wall Street’s published projections, leaving some wishing for even better results (analysts’ consensus estimates are those published by big banks and advisory firms, not the investors who make buy and sell decisions). The stock is down 7.5% since reporting and currently trades at $55.59.
Best Q2: Blackstone (NYSE: BX)
With over $1 trillion in assets under management and investments spanning real estate, private equity, credit, and hedge funds, Blackstone (NYSE: BX) is a global alternative asset manager that invests capital on behalf of pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and other institutional investors.
Blackstone reported revenues of $3.10 billion, up 22.9% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 8.6%. The business had a stunning quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ revenue and fee-related earnings estimates.
Blackstone scored the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 11% since reporting. It currently trades at $153.13.
Is now the time to buy Blackstone? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.
Weakest Q2: Ares (NYSE: ARES)
With roots in the leveraged finance group of Apollo Management, Ares Management (NYSE: ARES) is an alternative investment firm that manages private equity, credit, real estate, and infrastructure assets for institutional and high-net-worth clients.
Ares reported revenues of $1.02 billion, up 16.2% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1.1%. It was a slower quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EPS and management fees estimates.
Ares delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. As expected, the stock is down 24.8% since the results and currently trades at $139.50.
Read our full analysis of Ares’s results here.
Artisan Partners (NYSE: APAM)
Founded in 1994 with a focus on autonomous investment teams and a "high-value-added" approach, Artisan Partners (NYSE: APAM) is an investment management firm that offers actively managed equity and fixed income strategies to institutional and individual investors.
Artisan Partners reported revenues of $282.7 million, up 4.4% year on year. This result topped analysts’ expectations by 0.8%. However, it was a mixed quarter as it failed to impress in some other areas of the business.
Artisan Partners had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is down 6.4% since reporting and currently trades at $42.89.
Read our full, actionable report on Artisan Partners here, it’s free for active Edge members.
TPG (NASDAQ: TPG)
Founded in 1992 and managing over 300 active portfolio companies across more than 30 countries, TPG (NASDAQ: TPG) is a global alternative asset management firm that invests across private equity, credit, real estate, and public market strategies.
TPG reported revenues of $489.4 million, up 5.3% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 5.2%. It was an exceptional quarter as it also recorded a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.
The stock is down 8.7% since reporting and currently trades at $55.
Read our full, actionable report on TPG here, it’s free for active Edge members.
Market Update
Thanks to the Fed’s series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has cooled significantly from its post-pandemic highs, drawing closer to the 2% goal. This disinflation has occurred without severely impacting economic growth, suggesting the success of a soft landing. The stock market thrived in 2024, spurred by recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November), and a notable surge followed Donald Trump’s presidential election win in November, propelling indices to historic highs. Nonetheless, the outlook for 2025 remains clouded by potential trade policy changes and corporate tax discussions, which could impact business confidence and growth. The path forward holds both optimism and caution as new policies take shape.
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