BlackRock's second-quarter 2026 results beat Wall Street's expectations across the board, with the world's largest asset manager reporting yet another AUM milestone before the market open on Wednesday.
For the period ended June 30, BlackRock reported adjusted earnings of $13.91 per share against a consensus estimate of $12.59. Revenue reached $7.08 billion for the quarter, comfortably ahead of the roughly $6.8 billion analysts had projected, based on estimates compiled by LSEG cited by Reuters.
The results sent BlackRock shares up 6% in premarket trading, reflecting investor enthusiasm for a quarter defined by record asset growth, accelerating ETF inflows, and a steadily expanding footprint in private markets.
Total assets under management surged to $15.34 trillion, up from $13.89 trillion at the end of the first quarter and $12.53 trillion a year earlier, driven largely by a rally in equity markets and continued investor demand for BlackRock's fund lineup.
The company reported $868 billion of net inflows over the trailing twelve months, reflecting 10% organic base fee growth, with record first-half net inflows of $321 billion, including $192 billion in the second quarter alone, broad-based across ETFs, private markets, active fixed income and systematic equity strategies.
“BlackRock is simultaneously a leading public markets manager, a scaled private markets platform, and a global technology company," CEO Larry Fink said in statements accompanying the quarterly results. "The quality and breadth of our platform is differentiating us with clients more than ever before."
That quarterly inflow figure marks a sharp acceleration from $68 billion a year earlier and $130 billion in the first quarter, underscoring the pace at which client cash has moved into BlackRock's platform this year.
The iShares ETF franchise continued to anchor BlackRock's growth. Fixed-income products attracted $92 billion of the quarter's net inflows, while equity products added another $71.6 billion, with the S&P 500's 15% quarterly gain providing tailwinds across both categories. The company also reported 42% growth in operating income year-over-year, or 39% on an adjusted basis, alongside a 20% increase in diluted earnings per share, or 15% as adjusted.
Technology also played a growing role in the results. Technology services and subscription revenue rose 13% year-over-year, driven by continued momentum in the firm's Aladdin platform and multi-product solutions.
Fink struck a confident tone in the release, saying market fundamentals remain strong and well supported, with technology helping drive both margins and earnings momentum.
BlackRock's multiyear effort to build out its alternatives business also featured prominently in the results. The firm has spent roughly $28 billion acquiring infrastructure investor Global Infrastructure Partners, private credit firm HPS Investment Partners, and data provider Preqin, moves designed to diversify revenue beyond its traditional stock-and-bond base. Private markets net inflows totaled $15.4 billion for the quarter, with infrastructure contributing $5.2 billion and private credit adding $6 billion.
It hasn't been all smooth sailing. BlackRock's retail-facing, non-traded private credit vehicle, the HPS Corporate Lending Fund, known as HLEND, saw investors seek to redeem 13.3% of shares in the quarter – well above the fund's standard 5% quarterly redemption cap, which BlackRock maintained. The episode reflects broader investor unease around private credit that has surfaced in recent months, as concerns about lending standards and potential disruption from artificial intelligence weigh on sentiment toward the asset class.
Despite the redemption pressure, BlackRock has set an ambitious target of $400 billion in gross private markets fundraising between 2025 and 2030, and Fink has said institutional demand for private credit continues to accelerate even amid market noise around the sector. Private assets generally carry higher fee margins than exchange-traded funds, giving BlackRock a financial incentive to keep pushing into the space even as some retail investors grow more cautious.
BlackRock also raised its planned 2026 share buybacks to $2 billion, up from a previously announced $1.8 billion, signaling confidence in its cash generation even as it continues to fund acquisitions in the alternatives space.
"The more clients we help participate in the markets, the more our own growth builds – higher organic growth, higher earnings growth, and more value for our shareholders," Fink said. "Our momentum is accelerating, and I've never been more optimistic about the growth ahead."
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