The US has recently eased antitrust scrutiny, a backdrop against which Stephen Schwarzman has re‑launched a bullish view on his own firm, Blackstone Group. In a recent earnings call, he said, “Our stock is on sale today,” after the shares fell roughly a quarter over the last year.

Blackstone’s second‑quarter earnings সৌদ exceeded forecasts, showing that the $1.4tn in assets can still grow amid private‑market volatility. CEO Jonathan Gray noted that redemptions at the flagship private‑credit fund have slowed, and the fund now holds $45bn in net assets, though it raised only $1bn in new equity this quarter, a 70% drop year‑on‑year.

Other parts of the firm are thriving: AI‑driven infrastructure, a hedge‑fund unit that posted its best quarter in a decade, and a PE unit taking long‑held companies public. Yet some institutional PE and property funds deliver only middling returns. Schwarzman’s new “buy” rating signals a cheap way to tap the AI boom.

M&A activity remains robust, with deal volumes up 48% year‑over‑year and Goldman Sachs advising on a record‑breaking $1tn in transactions. The convergence of AI and infrastructure continues to fuel large‑scale deals, keeping market momentum high.