BlackRock posted a strong first quarter on April 14, 2026, beating Wall Street on both earnings and revenue. The stock rose around 2.4% in early trading.
Adjusted EPS came in at $12.53, ahead of the $11.65 analyst estimate. On a GAAP basis, diluted EPS was $14.06, up from $9.64 a year earlier.
Revenue climbed 27% to $6.7 billion, beating the consensus of $6.55 billion. Adjusted net income rose 17% to $2.07 billion.
BlackRock, Inc., BLK
Total net inflows for the quarter reached $130 billion. iShares ETF inflows set a new record at $132 billion. Private markets added another $9 billion.
Performance fees jumped sharply to $272 million, up from just $60 million in Q1 2025. That signals BlackRock is pulling more revenue from higher-margin strategies.
Technology services and subscription revenue grew 22% in the quarter. The Aladdin platform, which serves institutional clients, was part of that growth.
Adjusted operating income rose 31% year-on-year. BlackRock also raised its dividend by 10%, another sign of confidence from management.
Over the trailing 12 months, BlackRock pulled in $744 billion in net inflows, driving 10% organic base fee growth.
AUM rose 20% year-on-year to $13.89 trillion. But it slipped from the record $14.04 trillion set at the end of Q4 2025.
That sequential dip came from falling markets reducing the value of client portfolios, even as new money kept flowing in. Clients were still investing, but markets gave back some of the gains.
For an asset manager, AUM is the foundation of future fee revenue. Most of BlackRock’s income still ties directly to the level of assets it manages.
BlackRock has spent recent quarters building out businesses that earn higher fees per dollar managed. Active ETFs, private markets, and alternatives all carry richer margins than traditional index products.
That fee mix gave the firm a cushion this quarter. It posted stronger earnings even as the asset base pulled back from its peak.
Performance fees at $272 million were a standout. That compares to just $60 million in the same quarter a year ago, a sharp move that reflects how much BlackRock has scaled its higher-margin strategies.
BLK stock was down about 4.4% year-to-date heading into the print, slightly better than the S&P 500’s 4.6% decline. The most recent analyst rating on BLK is a Buy with a $1,290 price target.
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