Last Update 13 Nov 25
Fair value Decreased 10%OWL: Future AI Infrastructure Investments Will Drive Long-Term Upside Potential
Blue Owl Capital's analyst fair value target has been revised downward from $23.73 to $21.30. Analysts cite a combination of slower projected revenue growth, a higher discount rate, and mixed signals from recent earnings reports to support the adjustment.
Analyst Commentary
Recent Street research reveals a divided outlook on Blue Owl Capital, with both bullish and bearish signals emerging from updated price targets and research notes.
Bullish Takeaways- Bullish analysts highlighted that despite the recent mixed earnings, Blue Owl’s core business remains resilient, with notable growth in several key segments.
- Some research pointed to strong inflows in wealth products as a positive driver for near-term fundraising, supporting the company’s overall growth story.
- At least one bullish firm cited the current market environment as an opportunity for Blue Owl to outperform, referencing long-term investor maxims to justify an optimistic stance.
- There was at least one upward revision to the stock’s price target, underscoring confidence in the company’s ability to maintain its execution and trajectory.
- Bearish analysts expressed caution following mixed signals in the latest earnings report, particularly in light of a 4% post-announcement share price decline.
- Recent downward revisions in price targets reflect heightened concerns about slower than expected revenue growth and a less favorable macro environment.
- Some firms noted the impact of negative external factors, such as adverse media coverage on unrelated credit events, contributing to uncertainty and investor sensitivity.
- There are expectations of a sequential decline in fundraising activity, with some research projecting a "decent" quarter but a step down from prior periods.
What's in the News
- Blue Owl Capital is making a $3 billion investment in a New Mexico data center as part of OpenAI's Stargate project, highlighting its growing commitment to artificial intelligence infrastructure (The Information).
- Alongside Meta, Blue Owl now holds an 80% stake in the $27 billion Hyperion data center campus. BlackRock ETFs have invested over $3 billion in bonds supporting the project (The Wall Street Journal).
- Two major data centers in Santa Clara, California, including one backed by Blue Owl, remain incomplete due to power supply constraints from the local utility. This has created delays for new digital infrastructure (Bloomberg).
- Blue Owl is working with Goldman Sachs to raise $1.5 billion through the sale of asset manager portfolio stakes, transferring interests from its Dyal Capital Partners IV fund to new investors (Bloomberg).
Valuation Changes
- Consensus Analyst Price Target (Fair Value): Decreased from $23.73 to $21.30, reflecting a more cautious outlook.
- Discount Rate: Increased slightly from 8.43% to 8.55%, pointing to a marginally higher perceived risk or required return.
- Revenue Growth: Revised downward from 17.21% to 14.51%, indicating softer growth expectations ahead.
- Net Profit Margin: Declined significantly from 121.0% to 44.7%, signaling a major reassessment of future profitability.
- Future P/E: Rose from 4.72x to 12.04x, which may suggest higher valuation expectations relative to earnings or lower anticipated earnings growth.
Key Takeaways
- Strong growth in private credit, real assets, and fund strategies is driving stable recurring fees and margin expansion, positioning Blue Owl for future earnings growth.
- Strategic acquisitions, international expansion, and partnerships are broadening access to private markets, enhancing platform scale and supporting sustainable revenue and earnings increases.
- Heavy reliance on acquisitions, capital inflows, and concentrated markets exposes Blue Owl to integration, competition, compliance, and market cycle risks that threaten margins and growth.
Catalysts
About Blue Owl Capital- Operates as an alternative asset manager in the United States.
- Significant ongoing growth in permanent capital vehicles, particularly through expansion in private credit, real assets, and evergreen/interval fund strategies, is providing stable and recurring management fee revenue and positioning Blue Owl for higher future earnings and durable margin expansion.
- Structural shifts away from traditional bank lending toward private lenders, combined with robust demand for alternative credit and asset-backed finance, are enabling large pipeline growth and high deployment opportunities, directly supporting future AUM growth and upward trajectory in revenues.
- The broadening of access to private market products-recent partnerships for retirement plans (401(k) channel), international expansion, and consistently strong fundraising in both institutional and private wealth channels-expands the total addressable market, supporting long-term, sustainable increases in fee-related earnings.
- Strategic, value-accretive acquisitions and efficient integration of real estate, digital infrastructure, and alternative credit businesses are driving increased platform scalability and generating synergies, which already underpin accelerating topline growth and are expected to improve net margins as integration benefits fully materialize.
- Exceptional long-term opportunities in digital infrastructure, fueled by generational investment in data centers/AI-related assets where Blue Owl has industry leadership, are catalyzing large-scale fundraising and deployment, supporting robust growth in management fees and recurring revenues over the next several years.
Blue Owl Capital Future Earnings and Revenue Growth
Assumptions
How have these above catalysts been quantified?- Analysts are assuming Blue Owl Capital's revenue will grow by 17.5% annually over the next 3 years.
- Analysts assume that profit margins will increase from 2.9% today to 120.2% in 3 years time.
- Analysts expect earnings to reach $5.1 billion (and earnings per share of $0.89) by about September 2028, up from $75.4 million today. The analysts are largely in agreement about this estimate.
- In order for the above numbers to justify the analysts price target, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 11.3x on those 2028 earnings, down from 153.5x today. This future PE is lower than the current PE for the US Capital Markets industry at 26.7x.
- Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to grow by 7.0% per year for the next 3 years.
- To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 8.38%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.
Blue Owl Capital Future Earnings Per Share Growth
Risks
What could happen that would invalidate this narrative?- Blue Owl's rapid expansion through acquisitions and new business lines increases execution and integration risk; if synergies from recent or future acquisitions do not materialize or integration is more costly or complex than anticipated, future net margins and earnings could be diluted.
- The management emphasized that fundraising is "not linear" and noted significant reliance on strong, ongoing capital inflows-a slowdown during macro downturns, adverse market cycles, or rising rates could materially reduce revenues and DE growth.
- Surging competition from both traditional managers (e.g., BlackRock, Brookfield) and private market peers in key segments like net lease, real assets, and private credit may lead to fee compression and erode Blue Owl's pricing power, threatening long-term revenue and margin expansion.
- Concentration in U.S.-focused, middle-market direct lending, real estate, and digital infrastructure leaves Blue Owl exposed to regional or sector-specific slowdowns-especially if commercial real estate or leveraged loan markets undergo prolonged weakness, potentially impairing credit quality and causing higher losses or lower income.
- An increasingly complex regulatory environment around private funds, retail and 401(k) access, and SEC disclosure may raise compliance and operating costs, reducing efficiency and putting downward pressure on net margins and earnings over the long term.
Valuation
How have all the factors above been brought together to estimate a fair value?- The analysts have a consensus price target of $23.917 for Blue Owl Capital based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of $29.0, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just $21.0.
- In order for you to agree with the analyst's consensus, you'd need to believe that by 2028, revenues will be $4.2 billion, earnings will come to $5.1 billion, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 11.3x, assuming you use a discount rate of 8.4%.
- Given the current share price of $17.78, the analyst price target of $23.92 is 25.7% higher.
- We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.
How well do narratives help inform your perspective?
Disclaimer
AnalystConsensusTarget is a tool utilizing a Large Language Model (LLM) that ingests data on consensus price targets, forecasted revenue and earnings figures, as well as the transcripts of earnings calls to produce qualitative analysis. The narratives produced by AnalystConsensusTarget are general in nature and are based solely on analyst data and publicly-available material published by the respective companies. These scenarios are not indicative of the company's future performance and are exploratory in nature. Simply Wall St has no position in the company(s) mentioned. Simply Wall St may provide the securities issuer or related entities with website advertising services for a fee, on an arm's length basis. These relationships have no impact on the way we conduct our business, the content we host, or how our content is served to users. The price targets and estimates used are consensus data, and do not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and they do not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Note that AnalystConsensusTarget's analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



