Catenaa, Tuesday, February 03, 2026- Blackstone President Jon Gray anticipates that IPOs will accelerate this year amid a favorable regulatory environment and lower interest rates.

“2026 should be the year of the IPO,” said Gray at the WSJ Invest conference on Tuesday.

The US market for IPOs had already been gathering momentum last year, with Blackstone-backed Medline raising $6.26 billion in the year’s biggest offering.

This year’s pipeline is slated to include big names such as SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic, stoking more optimism about the public markets.

Medline’s successful debut bodes well for dealmaking in 2026, as does “a more normalized environment” for reviewing mergers and acquisitions, according to Gray.

The firm posted a surprise jump in distributable earnings in the fourth quarter as dealmaking reached what Gray called “escape velocity.”

Speaking at the Wall Street Journal conference, Gray said the availability of capital and lower rates are also boosting the IPO market.

Gray anticipates that the tightening labor market, as well as other economic data, will guide the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates over time, he said.

The selection of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair was “an outstanding choice,” Gray said.

Asked about the state of private credit, Gray called the market healthy. The difference between headlines and what the firm sees in its portfolio is “quite striking,” he said.

“Will there be individual companies that face challenges?” he added. “Yes, it’s non-investment grade lending.”

Still, he said that he expects substantial growth in investment-grade private credit. Such loans can finance energy projects, digital infrastructure, transportation, and consumer finance, Gray said.

“The rating is the same or higher,” he said.