BlackRock Q1: Fees and Flows

BlackRock said on April 14 that first-quarter profit jumped as investors poured money into its exchange-traded funds and performance fees surged. (blackrock.com) (reuters.com) The asset manager reported net income of $2.21 billion, or $14.06 a share, for the three months ended March 31, up from a year earlier. Revenue rose 27% to $6.698 billion, and adjusted earnings were $12.53 a share. (blackrock.com) (cnbc.com) Assets under management reached $13.89 trillion, up from $11.58 trillion a year earlier. BlackRock said total net inflows were $130 billion in the quarter, with a record first quarter for iShares exchange-traded funds. (cnbc.com) (blackrock.com) For an asset manager, assets under management are the fee base: more client money usually means more recurring revenue. BlackRock also said it generated 10% organic base fee growth over the last 12 months, driven by exchange-traded funds, private markets and systematic active strategies. (blackrock.com) Another driver was performance fees, which rise when certain funds clear return targets. BlackRock said investment advisory performance fees climbed to $272 million from $60 million a year earlier. (cnbc.com) (reuters.com) The quarter also showed how much BlackRock now depends on businesses beyond plain-vanilla stock and bond funds. Technology services and subscription revenue rose 22% year over year, helped by Aladdin and the Preqin transaction, BlackRock said. (blackrock.com) Investors were also watching BlackRock’s private markets business for signs of strain in private credit. BlackRock said private markets assets were $320.4 billion at the end of March, down from $322.6 billion at the end of December, even after $9.1 billion of net inflows, because of $8.5 billion of capital returned to clients and a $2 billion drop in market values. (cnbc.com) (reuters.com) Chief Executive Laurence Fink said private markets inflows were led by private credit and infrastructure. He also said BlackRock’s mix of public markets, private markets and technology is “proving more valuable every day.” (reuters.com) (blackrock.com) BlackRock also used the quarter’s cash flow to return money to shareholders. The firm said it repurchased $450 million of stock and raised its quarterly dividend 10% to $5.73 a share. (blackrock.com) Shares rose about 3% before the opening bell after the results, even as the stock was still down more than 4% for 2026 and lagging State Street. BlackRock’s quarter showed that record exchange-traded fund inflows and higher-fee businesses are still doing most of the lifting. (reuters.com) (cnbc.com)