BlackRock AUM Hits Record $15.34 Trillion on Market Rally, Strong ETF Inflows

BlackRock's assets under management (AUM) surged to a record $15.34 trillion in the second quarter, as a broad stock market rally and strong investor demand for its exchange-traded funds (ETFs) helped the firm beat Wall Street profit estimates.

The New York-based firm's AUM grew from $13.89 trillion in the first quarter and $12.53 trillion a year earlier, according to its earnings report released Wednesday.

Inflows and Earnings Beat

BlackRock attracted $192 billion in net inflows from clients during the quarter, a significant increase from the $68 billion recorded in the same period last year. The firm's iShares ETF franchise was a primary driver of this growth.

• Equity products accounted for $71.6 billion of net flows.
• Fixed-income products brought in $92 billion.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned $13.91 per share for the three months ended June 30. This performance surpassed the average analyst expectation of $12.59 per share, according to estimates compiled by LSEG. In a sign of confidence, BlackRock also announced it would increase its planned share buybacks for 2026 to $2 billion from $1.8 billion.

Market Tailwind

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The asset manager's results were significantly bolstered by buoyant market conditions. Major U.S. equity indexes saw their largest quarterly gains since 2020, with the benchmark S&P 500 index gaining 15% in the second quarter.

"Market fundamentals are strong and well supported, with higher margins and earnings momentum catalyzed by new technology," CEO Larry Fink said in a statement. "The scale and depth of our client relationships globally have never been greater."

Private Markets Push and Challenges

While continuing to dominate public markets, BlackRock is expanding its presence in higher-fee alternative assets. However, its push into private credit has faced some headwinds. The firm's HPS Corporate Lending Fund (HLEND) saw redemption requests equal to 13.3% of its shares, prompting BlackRock to enforce its standard 5% cap on quarterly withdrawals.

Despite this, private markets saw overall net inflows of $15.4 billion, with private credit contributing $6 billion and infrastructure adding $5.2 billion. Fink has previously stated that institutional demand for private credit is accelerating despite what he termed "market noise."