Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
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Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
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Our predominant exposure to market risk is related to our role as general partner or investment adviser to the Blackstone Funds and the sensitivities to movements in the fair value of their investments, including the effect on management fees, performance revenues and investment income. See “Part I. — Item 1. Business — Investment Process and Risk Management.”
Effect on Fund Management Fees
Blackstone earns base management fees from its customers at a fixed percentage of a calculation base. For a description of our accounting policy on revenue recognition and management fee calculation bases, generally, see Note 2. “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies — Revenue Recognition” in the “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” in “—Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” Management fees will only be directly affected by short-term changes in market conditions to the extent they are based on NAV, gross asset value (“GAV”), or represent permanent impairments of value. These management fees will be increased (or reduced) in direct proportion to the effect of changes in the fair value of our investments in the related funds. The proportion of our management fees that are based on NAV or GAV is dependent on the number and types of Blackstone Funds, vehicles, or separately managed accounts in existence and the current stage of each fund’s life cycle. For the years ended December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the percentages of our fund management fees based on the NAV or GAV of the applicable funds or separately managed accounts, were as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Fund Management Fees Based on the NAV or GAV of the Applicable Funds or Separately Managed Accounts | 51 | % | 47 | % |
Market Risk
The Blackstone Funds hold investments which are reported at fair value and Blackstone invests directly in securities measured at fair value. Based on the fair value as of December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, we estimate that a 10% decline in the fair value of investments, excluding equity securities without a readily determinable fair value measured in accordance with the measurement alternative, and certain freestanding derivative instruments would result in the following declines in Management and Advisory Fees, Net, Unrealized Performance Allocations, Net and Unrealized Principal Investment Income:
| December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Management and Advisory Fees, Net (a) | Unrealized Performance Allocations, Net (b) | Unrealized Principal Investment Income (c) | Management and Advisory Fees, Net (a) | Unrealized Performance Allocations, Net (b) | Unrealized Principal Investment Income (c) | |||||||||||||||||||
| (Dollars in Thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10% Decline in Fair Value of the Investments | $ | 497,332 | $ | 2,594,242 | $ | 987,245 | $ | 424,575 | $ | 2,399,495 | $ | 802,964 |
| (a) | Represents the annualized effect of the 10% decline. |
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| (b) | Represents the reporting date effect of the 10% decline. Presented net of Unrealized Performance Allocations Compensation. |
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| (c) | Represents the reporting date effect of the 10% decline. Also includes the net effect of consolidated funds, which reflects the change on Net Gains from Fund Investment Activities, net of Non-Controlling Interests. |
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The fair value of the investments, derivatives and securities subject to the market risk sensitivities can vary significantly based on a number of factors, including the diversity of the Blackstone Funds’ investment portfolio, market conditions, trading values, similar transactions, financial metrics, and industry comparatives. See “Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors” above. Also see “ —Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Critical Accounting Policies — Fair Value.” We believe these fair value amounts should be utilized with caution as our intent and strategy is to hold investments and securities until prevailing market conditions are beneficial for investment sales.
Exchange Rate Risk
Blackstone and the Blackstone Funds hold investments that are denominated in
non-U.S.
dollar currencies that may be affected by movements in the rate of exchange between the U.S. dollar and
non-U.S.
dollar currencies. Additionally, a portion of our management fees are denominated in
non-U.S.
dollar currencies. We estimate that as of December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, a 10% decline in the rate of exchange of all foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar would result in the following declines in Management and Advisory Fees, Net, Unrealized Performance Allocations, Net and Unrealized Principal Investment Income:
| December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Management and Advisory Fees, Net (a) | Unrealized Performance Allocations, Net (b)(c) | Unrealized Principal Investment Income (b) | Management and Advisory Fees, Net (a) | Unrealized Performance Allocations, Net (b)(c) | Unrealized Principal Investment Income (b) | |||||||||||||||||||
| (Dollars in Thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10% Decline in the Rate of Exchange of All Foreign Currencies Against the U.S. Dollar | $ | 52,124 | $ | 805,659 | $ | 96,516 | $ | 52,416 | $ | 683,852 | $ | 82,194 |
| (a) | Represents the annualized effect of the 10% decline. |
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| (b) | Represents the reporting date effect of the 10% decline. |
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| (c) | Presented net of Unrealized Performance Allocations Compensation. |
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Interest Rate Risk
Blackstone may have debt obligations payable that accrue interest at variable rates. Interest rate changes may therefore affect the amount of our interest payments, future earnings and cash flows. Blackstone did not have variable interest based debt obligations payable as of December 31, 2025 and therefore, interest expense was not impacted by changes in interest rates for the year ended December 31, 2025. As of December 31, 2024, Blackstone had $39.9 million outstanding under the Secured Borrowings that is subject to interest at a variable rate. The annualized increase in interest expense due to a 1% increase in interest rates would be $0.4 million as a result of these borrowings for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Blackstone has a diversified portfolio of liquid assets to meet the liquidity needs of various businesses. This portfolio includes cash, open-ended money market mutual funds, open-ended bond mutual funds, marketable investment securities, freestanding derivative contracts, repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements and other investments. If interest rates were to increase by one percentage point, we estimate that our annualized investment income would decrease, offset by an estimated increase in interest income on an annual basis from interest on floating rate assets, as follows:
| December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||
| Annualized Decrease in Investment Income | Annualized Increase in Interest Income from Floating Rate Assets | Annualized Decrease in Investment Income | Annualized Increase in Interest Income from Floating Rate Assets | |||||||||||||
| (Dollars in Thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
| One Percentage Point Increase in Interest Rates | $ | 3,006 | (a) | $ | 5,751 | $ | 4,042 | (a) | $ | 4,807 |
| (a) | As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, this represents less than 0.1% and 0.1%, respectively, of our portfolio of liquid assets. |
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Blackstone has U.S. dollar and
non-U.S.
dollar based interest rate derivatives whose future cash flows and present value may be affected by movement in their respective underlying yield curves. We estimate that as of December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, a one percentage point increase parallel shift in global yield curves would result in the following impact on Other Revenue:
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| (Dollars in Thousands) | ||||||||
| Annualized Increase (Decrease) in Other Revenue Due to a One Percentage Point Increase in Interest Rates | $ | 2,776 | $ | 2,388 |
Credit Risk
Certain Blackstone Funds and the Investee Funds are subject to certain inherent risks through their investments.
Our portfolio of liquid assets contains certain credit risks including, but not limited to, exposure to uninsured deposits with financial institutions, unsecured corporate bonds and mortgage-backed securities. These exposures are actively monitored on a continuous basis and positions are reallocated based on changes in risk profile, market or economic conditions.
We estimate that our annualized investment income would decrease, if credit spreads were to increase by one percentage point, as follows:
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| (Dollars in Thousands) | ||||||||
| Decrease in Annualized Investment Income Due to a One Percentage Point Increase in Credit Spreads (a) | $ | 1,166 | $ | 1,524 |
| (a) | As of December 31, 2025 and 2024, this represents less than 0.1% of our portfolio of liquid assets. |
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Certain of our entities hold derivative instruments that contain an element of risk in the event that the counterparties may be unable to meet the terms of such agreements. We minimize our risk exposure by limiting the counterparties with which we enter into contracts to banks and investment banks that meet established credit and capital guidelines. We do not expect any counterparty to default on its obligations and therefore do not expect to incur any loss due to counterparty default.
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