What happened
Thursday wasn't an especially inspiring day for the stock market, but it was an exceptional downer for investors of The Carlyle Group (CG 1.73%). Shares of the storied financial services company dove by almost 14%, a far worse performance than the 0.7% dip of the S&P 500 index. The culprit was easy to identify.
So what
Carlyle released its first-quarter figures before the trading session opened Thursday, revealing that it earned revenue of $859 million. That was a notable decline from the same period a year ago, when the finance company took in $1.58 billion. On the bright side, that result beat expectations: Analysts had been collectively modeling for revenue of less than $815 million.
The better-than-expected results did not, however, extend to the company's distributable earnings. These clocked in at a shade under $272 million ($0.63 per share), comparing unfavorably to both Q1 2022's nearly $303 million and the average analyst estimate of $0.68 per share.
Those declines didn't stop Carlyle from boosting its dividend, albeit modestly. Management reiterated in the earnings release that it is bumping the quarterly payout to $0.35 per share from the preceding level of nearly $0.33. The newly raised distribution will be handed out on May 23 to investors of record as of May 16.
NASDAQ: CG
Key Data Points
Now what
"We are in the midst of one of the most complex financial markets in recent memory, which is clouding the near-term outlook and impacting market sentiment," said CEO Harvey Schwartz in the earnings report.
He sounded a hopeful note, though, pointing out that Carlyle has a history of surviving turbulent times, and saying that he expects the company to continue expanding and diversifying its slate of offerings.