BLUE OWL CAPITAL (OWL) Company Report

Concerns are rising that private credit markets may be echoing the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis, with firms like Blue Owl engaging in confirmed forced sales of private credit loans.
New Mountain Finance also sold $477 million in private credit loans at 94 cents on the dollar, signaling mounting stress.
Strategists at UBS project private credit defaults could rise to as high as 15% in adverse scenarios, particularly in software and technology sectors.
Michael Eisenga, CEO of First American Properties, notes that liquidity is tightening and leverage is being exposed as the era of cheap money ends, with credit markets failing to confirm recent equity rallies.

11 hours ago

Press Release

Blue Owl Capital Corporation II Announces Asset Sales and Deleveraging Plan

OWL

Blue Owl Capital Corporation II (OBDC II) disclosed loan sale agreements totaling $600 million at 99.7% of par, expected to generate approximately $538 million of proceeds after fees.
The company intends to use these proceeds to repay secured debt and distribute approximately 30% of total net assets to shareholders on a pro-rata basis.
These asset sales are part of Blue Owl's broader $1.4 billion asset sale and represent approximately 34.9% of OBDC II's total investments at fair value (excluding unfunded committed investments).
On a pro forma basis, OBDC II's gross leverage ratio is expected to materially decline from 0.83x (as of 3Q25) to approximately 0.53x following the transactions.
The settlement is anticipated to be completed in the first quarter of 2026 and is consistent with OBDC II's long-term objective of providing a liquidity event for shareholders.

4 days ago

Press Release

Blue Owl Halts Redemptions for OBDCII Vehicle Amid Private Credit Turmoil

OWL

Takeover Bid

Demand Weakening

Blue Owl has permanently halted quarterly redemptions for its retail OBDCII vehicle, opting to return capital through loan repayments, asset sales, and installments, including the sale of approximately $600 million from OBDCII as part of a larger $1.4 billion direct loan asset sale.
This decision led to a significant intraday stock drop of nearly 10% for Blue Owl and broader sector declines, while hedge fund Saba publicly proposed to acquire Blue Owl-related BDC shares at a 20%-35% discount to the latest Net Asset Value (NAV), highlighting a considerable gap between secondary market liquidity prices and reported valuations.
The event underscores systemic vulnerabilities in nonbank lending and leveraged credit, following earlier warning signs such as the bankruptcies of Tricolor and First Brands in September 2025, and is exacerbated by structural shifts like the rapid expansion of private credit and concentrated exposure to tech borrowers.

5 days ago

CNBC

Blue Owl Capital Closes Strategic Equity Strategy

OWL

New Projects/Investments

Blue Owl Capital Inc. (OWL) announced the final close of its strategic equity and secondaries strategy, Blue Owl Strategic Equity (BOSE).
The BOSE strategy secured total commitments of over ~$3 billion.
This capital was raised from a diverse client base across Blue Owl's global Private Wealth and Institutional channels.
Blue Owl Strategic Equity provides long-term capital solutions to private equity sponsors to extend ownership in their highest-performing portfolio companies through continuation vehicles and minority equity transactions.

Feb 11, 2026, 1:00 PM

Press Release

Blue Owl Capital Discusses 2026 Strategic Priorities and Market Outlook

OWL

Guidance Update

New Projects/Investments

Revenue Acceleration/Inflection

Blue Owl's strategic priorities for 2026 focus on execution, improving margins, and growing FRE per share, with no major strategic acquisitions anticipated.
The company expects FRE per share growth in 2026 to be modestly higher than 2025, with further acceleration in 2027. Fundraising was record-setting last year, and while the wealth channel may be muted in the first half of 2026, it is expected to accelerate in the second half.
Private credit portfolios are performing exceptionally well, with 8 basis points of annualized losses over the past 10 years and strong EBITDA growth in underlying companies, leading to an expectation of continued strong performance for the next 18-24 months.
Blue Owl is highly optimistic about its digital infrastructure and asset-backed finance (ABF) segments, with the ABF institutional fund generating a 19% gross return last year.

Feb 10, 2026, 3:30 PM

Transcript

Blue Owl Capital Outlines 2026 Strategic Priorities and Market Outlook

OWL

Guidance Update

New Projects/Investments

Revenue Acceleration/Inflection

Blue Owl Capital's strategic priorities for 2026 are centered on execution, improving margins, and growing FRE per share, with growth projected to be modestly better than 2025 and accelerating in 2027. The company does not anticipate strategic acquisitions this year.
The firm's private credit portfolios are performing exceptionally well, showing 8 basis points of annualized losses over 10 years and 10-15% EBITDA growth in Q4 2025 for industrial and software companies, respectively. Key growth drivers include digital infrastructure, offering 7.5-8% cap rates on long-term leases to investment-grade companies , and the Asset-Backed Finance (ABF) business, which generated a 19% gross return in its institutional fund last year and operates in a $8-$10 trillion TAM.
After record fundraising in 2025, particularly in the wealth channel, fundraising is expected to be more muted in the first half of 2026 due to elevated redemptions, with an anticipated acceleration in the second half of the year.

Feb 10, 2026, 3:30 PM

Transcript

Blue Owl Capital Outlines 2026 Strategic Priorities and Market Outlook

OWL

M&A

New Projects/Investments

Guidance Update

Blue Owl Capital's 2026 strategic priorities focus on execution and margin improvement, with expectations for modestly higher FRE per share growth than 2025, accelerating in 2027. The company does not anticipate strategic acquisitions this year.
The firm expects strong deployment in 2026, driven by an anticipated pickup in M&A activity, particularly in private credit. Key fundraising initiatives include completing a GP Stakes Fund and a real estate flagship fund targeting $7.5 billion, and launching a digital infrastructure fund in the second half of 2026.
Blue Owl is highly optimistic about its digital infrastructure business, which offers 7.5-8% cap rates on triple-net leases to double-A rated companies, projecting mid-teens base case returns. Its Asset-Backed Finance business generated a 19% gross return for its institutional fund last year.
The company's private credit portfolios demonstrate strong performance with only 8 basis points of annualized losses over 10 years and 10-15%+ EBITDA growth in industrial and software sectors, respectively, with expectations for continued good performance over the next 18-24 months.

Feb 10, 2026, 3:30 PM

Transcript

Blue Owl Announces Q4 2025 Results with Significant AUM Growth and Fundraising Success

OWL

Earnings

Dividends

Share Buyback

Blue Owl's Assets Under Management (AUM) reached $307.4 billion as of December 31, 2025, representing a 22% increase since December 31, 2024.
For Q4 2025, the company reported GAAP Net Income of $47.7 million ($0.07 per diluted Class A Share), Fee-Related Earnings of $416.6 million ($0.27 per Adjusted Share), and Distributable Earnings of $382.5 million ($0.24 per Adjusted Share).
The company announced an annual dividend of $0.92 per Class A Share for 2026 and repurchased 3.6 million shares for $52.0 million in Q4 2025.
Blue Owl achieved significant fundraising success in 2025, with equity fundraise totaling $42.0 billion, an increase of over 50% from 2024.
AUM Not Yet Paying Fees totaled $28.4 billion as of December 31, 2025, reflecting approximately $326 million in expected annual management fees once deployed.

Feb 5, 2026, 3:00 PM

Presentation

Blue Owl Capital Announces Q4 and Full Year 2025 Results

OWL

Earnings

Dividends

Guidance Update

Blue Owl Capital reported Q4 2025 fee-related earnings (FRE) of $0.27 per share and distributable earnings (DE) of $0.24 per share, with full-year 2025 FRE of $0.96 per share and DE of $0.84 per share.
The company declared a Q4 2025 dividend of $0.225 per share and announced an annual fixed dividend of $0.92 for 2026, or $0.23 per quarter. The 2025 payout ratio was 107%-108%, with a goal to bring it down to 85% over the next few years.
Blue Owl raised $56 billion of capital in 2025, including over $17 billion in Q4 2025, and surpassed $300 billion in Assets Under Management (AUM) during Q4 2025.
Investment performance was strong, with the net lease strategy generating gross returns over 13% and direct lending net returns of 8.7% in 2025. The company also executed approximately $70 million in stock buybacks in Q4 2025.

Feb 5, 2026, 3:00 PM

Transcript

Blue Owl Capital Reports Strong Q4 and Full-Year 2025 Results, Announces 2026 Dividend

OWL

Earnings

Dividends

Guidance Update

Blue Owl Capital reported Q4 2025 fee-related earnings (FRE) of $0.27 per share and distributable earnings (DE) of $0.24 per share. For the full year 2025, FRE was $0.96 per share and DE was $0.84 per share.
The company declared a Q4 2025 dividend of $0.225 per share and announced an annual fixed dividend of $0.92 per share for 2026, or $0.23 per quarter. The payout ratio for 2025 was 107-108%, with a goal to reduce it to approximately 85%.
Blue Owl achieved significant growth in 2025, raising $56 billion of capital across the business, including $17 billion during Q4, and crossed $300 billion of AUM. Total equity fundraising for 2025 was $42 billion, an increase of more than 50% year-over-year.
For 2026, Blue Owl is targeting an FRE margin of approximately 58.5% and expects a modest increase in the growth rate for FRE per share, with acceleration anticipated in 2027. The company also expects 2% share count growth and approximately $365 million in regular way year-end stock compensation expense.