BlackRock, Inc.

Second-quarter revenue was $7.1 billion, up 31% year over year. Operating income was $2.9 billion, up 39%, and EPS was $13.91, up 15% versus a year ago. Operating margin was 45.9%, up 260 basis points year over year, and adjusted operating margin excluding performance fees and related compensation was 46.5%. Base fee and securities lending revenue was $5.7 billion, up 29%; performance fees were $305 million; technology services and subscription revenue rose 13%; and ACV increased 15% year over year. Net inflows were $192 billion in Q2, with $868 billion over the last 12 months and 8% organic base fee growth in the quarter. BlackRock said it expects a 25% tax rate for the remainder of 2026, and it now anticipates repurchasing at least $550 million of shares per quarter going forward. AUM reached a record $15.3 trillion.

Laurence Fink framed the quarter as evidence that BlackRock is benefiting from long-term expansion in global capital markets, broader ETF adoption, and the integration of public and private markets. He was notably optimistic, saying the company’s momentum is accelerating and that he has never been more optimistic about BlackRock’s future growth. He highlighted more than $1 trillion of AUM growth so far in 2026, strong demand from clients, and the early success of the GIP, HPS, and Preqin combination.

Martin Small focused on the quality of growth, emphasizing record net inflows, 10% organic base fee growth over the last 12 months, and margin expansion to 45.9%. He cited revenue of $7.1 billion, operating income of $2.9 billion, EPS of $13.91, and noted that base fee and securities lending revenue was $5.7 billion with about $230 million of base fees from HPS. He also said BlackRock repurchased $450 million of shares in Q2 and now expects at least $550 million per quarter going forward, while full-year G&A should rise in the mid-single digits after annualizing HPS and Preqin.

Analysts focused on Aperio, tokenization, insurance-related private markets opportunities, margin sustainability, distribution fees, private markets flow mix, European ETF demand, and Aladdin/Preqin synergies. Management said Aperio is a structural after-tax investing growth theme, with $7 billion of Q2 inflows and about $20 billion in 2026 flows so far, and it sees long-short strategies as a complementary growth engine. On tokenization, BlackRock said it is pursuing tokenized money market funds and views digital wallets as a new distribution channel; on insurance, it said it has closed about $10 billion in high-grade and infrastructure debt mandates in 2026 and sees more opportunity as insurers seek higher yields. On distribution, management said it has not been approached by major U.S. distributors for ETF tolls and does not see material differences in economics between mutual funds and active ETFs.