Blackstone lines up huge IPO pipeline
FT News Briefing
Forhecz Topher
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 30 January 2026
⏱️ 12 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Apple reported a blockbuster rise in revenue last quarter, and Blackstone is preparing to take a series of long-held investments public. Plus, Canada’s oil industry is thriving as it pushes into Asian markets. Plus, some US oil majors are reporting earnings, which could give us a window into whether they're preparing to invest in Venezuela.
Mentioned in this podcast:
Apple hails ‘remarkable’ $144bn quarter with best-ever iPhone sales
Blackstone lines up ‘one of largest IPO pipelines in history’
Canada’s oil industry thrives as sales to China soar
Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts
Today’s FT News Briefing was hosted and edited by Marc Filippino, and produced by Fiona Symon, Victoria Craig and Sonja Hutson. Our show was mixed by Kelly Garry. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello and David da Silva. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s Global Head of Audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Good morning from the Financial Times. |
| 0:04.2 | Today is Friday, January 30th, and this is your FT News Briefing. |
| 0:08.6 | Looks like lots of people put iPhones on their Christmas lists, and Blackstone is ready for a whole lot of initial public offerings. |
| 0:16.3 | Plus, we'll drill down on the changes in the oil industry and how it's impacting Canada. |
| 0:22.2 | I'm Mark Filipino, and here's the news you need to start your day. |
| 0:34.0 | Apple reported record revenue last quarter about $144 billion. |
| 0:38.9 | That was thanks to a surge in iPhone purchases during the holiday season. |
| 0:43.3 | Sales in China also gave the company a big boost. |
| 0:46.8 | A successful launch of the iPhone 17 helped push revenue up by 23% year-on-year |
| 0:51.9 | that blew past the company's already ambitious targets. |
| 0:56.2 | Strong hardware sales have helped soothe investor anxiety over Apple's AI strategy. |
| 1:01.4 | It's had some false starts, and rivals are poaching the company's top talent. |
| 1:05.4 | Apple shares are up 22% over the past six months. |
| 1:08.3 | They were also up in after-hours trading yesterday. |
| 1:17.8 | Blackstone has lined up one of its largest IPO pipelines in history. That's what its |
| 1:22.2 | President Jonathan Gray told the Financial Times. He spoke to my colleague Antoine Garah, |
| 1:26.8 | who joins me now. Hi, Antoine. |
| 1:28.6 | Hi, how are you? I'm doing well. So Antoine, just to remind folks, Blackstone is the world's largest private capital group. What kind of deals does it have lined up? |
| 1:38.7 | So, yeah, John Gray told me that they've really got what could be the largest pipeline of companies in their |
| 1:46.5 | portfolio that they're going to be taking public in the coming months or year. And that really |
| 1:52.2 | started last year with the $7.2 billion IPO of Medline Industries and medical supplies giant. |
| 2:01.6 | That IPO has traded really well, and optimism at Blackstone is high that the IPO market |
... |
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