Jim on Blackstone Inc. (BX): ‘You’re Buying The Life’s Work Of Some Of The Smartest People In The Business World’
We recently compiled a list of the Jim Cramer on Taiwan Semiconductor, Netflix, and Other Stocks. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) stands against the other stocks on Jim Cramer's list.
Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money, recently expressed concern that some investors are overlooking potential market opportunities by fixating on the Federal Reserve's next moves regarding interest rates. He emphasized that, over the years, many in the investment community have become overly reliant on the Fed’s actions rather than focusing on individual companies and their profitability.
“Everyone who’s obsessed with the Fed’s next foray is basically investing with blinders on, and as a result, they’re missing out on some of the greatest moves I’ve ever seen in my life. Moves coming from the most unlikely of stocks. And I don't want to see you ignoring these opportunities anymore.”
Cramer said that he is an admirer of Fed Chair Jay Powell, but he recognizes the limits of the Fed's influence. He noted that while Powell wields significant power, he cannot dictate the performance of high-quality companies that are less affected by economic cycles. According to Cramer, when a company is not tied to the business cycle, it is less susceptible to the whims of the Fed. However, many traders still seem oblivious to this reality.
“... I needed to say something because over the past couple of decades, so many people in this business have become creatures of the Fed, not of companies and the profits that they make. Unless the Fed's happy… unless it has its pound of flesh, these Fed watchers won't pull the trigger and buy stocks, even stocks of companies have almost nothing whatsoever to do with our central bank and are doing really well.”
He highlighted that fear of the Fed often extends to stocks that appear pricey based on earnings multiples, particularly when investors worry that the Fed might have to abandon rate cuts to combat inflation. This fear, he noted, can drive investors away from promising sectors, like semiconductors. While Cramer acknowledges the importance of being aware of the Fed’s actions, he insists that it should not become an obsession. He believes that although the Fed has considerable influence, it is not all-powerful.
He clarified that he does not claim the stock market will never decline during periods of Fed easing, but he maintains that there are limits to the Fed's impact.
“I’m not saying the stock market will never go down when the Fed’s easing… I am saying there are limits to what the Fed impacts. And I swear by the managers who know a lot about business, and who don’t cower when Jay Powell grabs the mic to talk about the pace of rate cuts.”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 7 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during his episode of Mad Money on October 17. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment as of the second quarter, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of more than 900 hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A financial advisor with a client discussing the merits of a mutual fund, showing the company's experienced advice in asset management.
Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 58
Cramer discussed Blackstone Inc.’s (NYSE:BX) position post-rate cutting and emphasized the brilliance of the company’s leadership and the effectiveness of its strategies.
“What about Blackstone, the enormous private equity firm that invests in everything from real estate to data centers? The knee-jerk Fed worshippers hear the name Blackstone, they think investments, and to them, any company that's all about investments is a company that lives and dies by the Fed. If retail sales are too strong, rates shoot up, as they did this morning. These eccentric stooges run from Blackstone. Never mind that Blackstone reported one terrific quarter, one that eventually sent the stock up more than 6%, new all-time high.
In the end, Blackstone is less levered to the Fed and more levered to the brains of its brilliant executives. When you buy shares in Blackstone, which I wanted to do so badly for my Charitable Trust, but didn't get a chance to, you're not buying the musings of the Fed chief during a strange, stilted Q&A session with reporters. You're buying the life's work of some of the smartest people in the business world. If you remember that, you will indeed profit from it.”
Blackstone (NYSE:BX) is a leading alternative asset management firm, with expertise in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity, and multi-asset class strategies. On October 17, the firm reported its financial results for the third quarter, which showed growth across various segments. Total revenue increased by 5% year-over-year, reaching $2.43 billion, largely driven by an influx of $40 billion in capital deployment.
Additionally, distributable earnings per share rose by 7%, hitting $1.01. The company's assets under management also reached an all-time high of $1.11 trillion, a 10% increase compared to the previous year. The rising value of its funds further shows the firm’s effective investment strategies and strong market positioning.
For the future, Blackstone (NYSE:BX) management expressed a commitment to expanding into private wealth channels, alongside a focused approach toward infrastructure and credit markets in Asia.
Overall BX ranks 5th on our list of the stocks Jim Cramer is talking about. While we acknowledge the potential of BX as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than BX but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.