“Market fundamentals are strong and well-supported, with higher margins and earnings momentum catalyzed by new technology. The scale and depth of our client relationships globally have never been greater. Clients are turning to BlackRock for insights and opportunities,” with these words, Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO of the firm, contextualized the firm’s second quarter results.
Results that have exceeded expectations and translated into a rise in its shares at the start of the trading session. Specifically, the manager reached 15.3 trillion dollars in assets under management (AUM) after registering 868 billion dollars of net inflows during the last twelve months, reflecting organic growth in base fees of 10%. “Flows in the first six months of 2026 more than doubled year-over-year, bringing assets under management (AUM) to a record 15.3 trillion dollars,” Fink recognizes.
During the first half of the year, the firm registered record net inflows of 321 billion dollars, including 192 billion dollars in the second quarter, broadly based across the platform and driven by ETFs, private markets, active fixed income, and systematic equity strategies.
The most striking data point is that it registered a 31% increase in revenue compared to the previous year, “reflecting the positive impact of markets, organic growth in base fees, fees related to the HPS transaction, higher performance fees, and higher technology services and subscription revenue,” as they explain.
The Engines of BlackRock
As Fink pointed out, the firm has simultaneously become “a leading public markets manager, a scaled private markets platform, and a global technology company.” And he defends that the quality and breadth of their platform differentiates them with clients more than ever. “It is enabling us to capture a larger share of their portfolios and drive durable earnings for our shareholders. In the second quarter, clients entrusted us with 192 billion dollars in net capital inflows, generating organic base fee growth of 8%, well ahead of our target,” he recognizes.
Additionally, iShares surpassed 6 trillion dollars in AUM, approximately doubling its size in three years. However, the data point that Fink highlights is that demand is building across its active management franchise with 53 billion dollars of net inflows, “where systematic strategies drove net inflows in equity and a record 7 billion in liquid alternatives.”
The third key point driving the manager is the technology segment. In fact, revenue from technology services and subscriptions increased by 67 million dollars compared to the second quarter of 2025 and 36 million compared to the first quarter of 2026, reflecting sustained demand for Aladdin and multi-product solutions. The annual contract value (ACV) of technology services and subscriptions increased by 15% compared to the second quarter of 2025. “This increase reflects the continued adoption of Aladdin as transparency, data, and analytics become increasingly critical for our clients and the industry,” notes Fink.
Financial Reflection
These engines have a clear reflection in the manager’s financial results, and its adjusted operating margin for the second quarter was 45.9%, the highest in nearly five years. Quarterly operating income grew approximately 40% year-over-year, and their conviction in BlackRock’s future growth led them to increase their planned level of share repurchases for 2026 to 2 billion dollars.
“Helping more people benefit from the long-term growth of the capital markets is at the core of our strategy and our largest source of opportunity. It is how we deliver higher and more durable organic growth. We see it in our results this quarter: 8% organic base fee growth, an adjusted operating margin near 46%, double-digit earnings per share growth, and increased return of capital. The more we help our clients participate in the markets, the more our own growth solidifies: higher organic growth, higher earnings growth, and more value for our shareholders. Our momentum is accelerating, and I have never been more optimistic about the growth ahead,” concludes Fink on his assessment of these latest quarterly results.
