Blackstone Inc. President Jon Gray said at the Wall Street Journal Invest conference that he expects both dealmaking and initial public offerings to gain momentum in 2026, pointing to a regulatory backdrop he described as constructive and the prospect of lower interest rates.
"2026 should be the year of the IPO," Gray said during remarks at the conference.
Gray noted the 2026 U.S. IPO pipeline includes large private companies such as SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic, and he framed that lineup as a source of renewed optimism for public markets.
He cited the successful market debut of medical equipment maker Medline late in 2025 as another encouraging signal for dealmakers entering 2026. Gray also said merger and acquisition reviews are moving toward "a more normalized environment," which he suggested would support further transactions.
Blackstone reported an unexpected rise in distributable earnings during the fourth quarter, a development Gray linked to dealmaking reaching what he called "escape velocity." At the conference he emphasized that capital availability combined with lower borrowing costs are helping to revive the IPO market.
Gray expressed a view that a tightening labor market and other economic indicators will lead the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates over time. On the Fed's leadership transition, he called the selection of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair "an outstanding choice."
Addressing the private credit market, Gray said Blackstone sees the sector as healthy and noted a gap between media coverage and the condition of companies in the firm’s portfolio. He acknowledged that some individual borrowers may face difficulties, observing, "Will there be individual companies that face challenges? Yes, it's non-investment grade lending."
Despite that caveat, Gray predicted substantial growth in investment-grade private credit. He outlined the types of projects and sectors that investment-grade private credit can finance, including energy projects, digital infrastructure, transportation and consumer finance, and added, "The rating is the same or higher."
The conference remarks were followed in the article's broader context by an overview of research and evaluation tools. One example cited was ProPicks AI, which evaluates BX using more than 100 financial metrics and highlights opportunities based on fundamentals, momentum and valuation. The piece noted ProPicks AI has identified notable past winners, including Super Micro Computer (+185%) and AppLovin (+157%).
Key points
- Jon Gray expects IPO activity to strengthen in 2026, citing a supportive regulatory environment and lower interest rates - sectors affected include public equity markets and investment banking.
- Major private companies such as SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic are on the 2026 U.S. IPO pipeline, contributing to optimism about public listings - this impacts capital markets and technology-related sectors.
- Blackstone reported an unexpected increase in distributable earnings in Q4 as dealmaking accelerated, and Gray sees investment-grade private credit expanding into energy, digital infrastructure, transportation and consumer finance.
Risks and uncertainties
- Some borrowers in non-investment grade private credit may face difficulties, creating downside risk for lenders and credit markets - this particularly affects non-investment grade lending segments.
- Prospects for lower interest rates are contingent on economic developments such as labor market conditions and other indicators referenced by Gray; if those indicators do not evolve as expected, the timing and magnitude of rate cuts could differ from his outlook - this affects borrowing costs and capital availability.
- Although Gray described a more normalized environment for M&A reviews, regulatory outcomes remain a variable that could influence deal flow and transaction timelines - this affects mergers and acquisitions activity across sectors.