BlackRock Assets Reach Record $10.6T as Revenue, Profits Rise

BlackRock (BLK) reported a record $10.6 trillion in assets under management (AUM) in its second-quarter earnings report Monday, as profits and revenue rose year-over-year.

BlackRock’s second-quarter revenue rose 8% from a year ago to $4.81 billion, while net income was up 9% at $1.5 billion, or $9.99 per share. Analysts had expected $4.84 billion in revenue and $1.5 billion in net income, or $9.78 per share, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

Higher Fees, ETF Growth Drive Gains

BlackRock’s revenue rose in the second quarter and first half of 2024 thanks to higher fees and a record first half of the year for inflows into the firm’s exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which saw about $150 billion in net inflows so far this year, $83 billion of which came in the second quarter.

“BlackRock generated nearly $140 billion of total net inflows in the first half of 2024, including $82 billion in the second quarter resulting in 3% organic base fee growth,” BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said Monday. “Organic growth was driven by private markets, retail active fixed income, and surging flows into our ETFs, which had their best start to a year on record.”

The ETF growth in the first two quarters was also boosted by trading activity in the firm’s new spot Bitcoin ETFs, which were approved for the first time earlier this year.

The company noted “meaningful new growth markets” as well, after announcing several acquisitions this year, including its purchase of market data firm Preqin, asset management firm SpiderRock Advisors, and Global Infrastructure Partners.

Fink said the Global Infrastructure Partners deal is set to close in the third quarter, and is expected to “double private markets base fees and add approximately $100 billion of infrastructure AUM.”

BlackRock shares edged 0.4% higher to $831 in pre-market trading Monday following the release.