Brookfield Corporation shares climbed in pre-market trading after the company reported a fourth-quarter earnings beat and raised its dividend by 17 per cent, extending a period of steady growth across its asset management and operating businesses.
BNN Bloomberg spoke with Chris Ballard, managing director at Check Capital Management Inc., who said Brookfield’s scale, capital flexibility and exposure to AI-related infrastructure position it to continue compounding distributable earnings at a high-teens pace.
Key Takeaways
- Brookfield reported high-teens growth in distributable earnings, continuing a consistent upward trend in both quarterly and annual results.
- The company increased its dividend by 17 per cent, signalling confidence in cash flow generation and capital flexibility.
- Brookfield has approximately $188 billion in deployable capital, giving it significant flexibility to pursue global investment opportunities.
- Leadership changes at Brookfield Asset Management formalize Connor Teskey’s role as CEO, with management continuity viewed as intact.
- AI-driven infrastructure, including a $20 billion partnership in Qatar, underscores growing demand for data centres, power and compute capacity.
Read the full transcript below:
LINDSAY: We’re going to move on now. Shares of Brookfield Corporation are trending higher in the pre-market after releasing a fourth-quarter earnings beat and announcing a dividend hike of 17 per cent. Let’s get more from Chris Ballard, managing director at Check Capital Management Inc. Chris is joining us here. It’s good to have you. Thanks so much.
CHRIS: Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
LINDSAY: Just an overall look at this earnings report, what in the numbers stood out to you?
CHRIS: Distributable earnings continue to increase at a strong pace. Depending on what you’re looking at, it’s basically in the high teens, which is what management has continued to guide toward. The fact they’re able to do this on such a grand scale — we’re talking billions and tens of billions — is impressive to us.
They have a long runway ahead with their asset management business, their wealth solutions business, and their infrastructure and renewables operations. Across the board, they seem to be very consistent, delivering the way they say they will. There were no real downside surprises. It looks like they beat estimates, which is always a plus. We were very pleased with the numbers.
LINDSAY: And a dividend increase of 17 per cent — what does that tell you about how the company is feeling about its own future at the moment?
CHRIS: They have so many levers to deploy capital. It’s incredible. We like when they’re buying back stock and increasing dividends. It’s a testament to the options they have with the cash on hand. At this point, they have about $188 billion of deployable capital they can put into investments.
They’re in a very good position to do exactly what they want with that capital. An increase in dividends is always welcome. It’s not a must for us. We like to invest in businesses that can reinvest cash at attractive returns, but we’re certainly pleased to receive the extra cash.
LINDSAY: There have been some changes in leadership in Brookfield’s asset management division. Do you think that will affect growth at all?
CHRIS: First, congratulations to Connor Teskey for taking the CEO role. That’s a big move. He’s in his late 30s — I believe 38 — which is about the age Bruce Flatt was when he took control of the business more than 20 years ago.
We’re not concerned at all. Connor Teskey has effectively been leading Brookfield Asset Management for the past few years. This formalizes that leadership. We have full confidence in him. He’s been delivering over the last several years and appears positioned to potentially succeed Bruce Flatt at the parent company level over time. We like what he’s doing.
LINDSAY: It sounds like good news for the company and a very positive picture after these latest results. Are there any headwinds or risks you see for Brookfield going forward?
CHRIS: The main challenge is deploying capital quickly and in the right way. They’re very patient, and that discipline could slow growth at times, but they control the decisions around capital allocation.
With AI growing rapidly, one challenge is ensuring energy supply keeps pace with demand. Demand is clearly there. For example, they recently partnered with QAI in Qatar on a $20 billion AI infrastructure buildout that will include data centres and compute capacity. Qatar offers low-cost energy, and Brookfield is a leading developer of renewables. The task is building out infrastructure quickly enough to meet demand. We think they’re well positioned to do that.
LINDSAY: That’s all the time we have. Chris Ballard, managing director at Check Capital Management Inc. Thanks so much for joining us.
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This BNN Bloomberg summary and transcript of the Feb. 12, 2025 interview with Chris Ballard are published with the assistance of AI. Original research, interview questions and added context was created by BNN Bloomberg journalists. An editor also reviewed this material before it was published to ensure its accuracy and adherence with BNN Bloomberg editorial policies and standards.
