New York, July 15, 2026, 10:04 EDT
BlackRock, Inc. NYSE:BLK reported a 31% rise in revenue and hit a record for assets on Wednesday, but this was the last quarter to benefit from its HPS deal skewing year-over-year numbers. Starting in the September quarter, organic growth will get a harder look, as HPS will be in the comparison base. Shares gained about 6.8% to $1,095 in early New York trading.
BlackRock said HPS was responsible for about $230 million of the $1.27 billion year-over-year jump in investment-advisory, admin and securities-lending revenue. That’s about 18% of the increase. Once HPS is counted in both periods starting from the third quarter, the deal won’t add new upside. BlackRock’s 8% organic base-fee growth will play a bigger role.
The deal also pushed profit growth ahead of per-share growth. Adjusted net income climbed 22% to $2.29 billion. Adjusted earnings per share rose 15% to $13.91, with the weighted diluted share count up 5% to 164.6 million. BlackRock reported 7.6 million HPS-linked subsidiary units outstanding as of June 30, which made up most of the 8.4 million-share jump from last year.
| Q2 measure | 2026 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $7.08 billion | $5.42 billion | 31% |
| Adjusted net income | $2.29 billion | $1.88 billion | 22% |
| Adjusted EPS | $13.91 | $12.05 | 15% |
| Weighted diluted shares | 164.6 million | 156.3 million | 5% |
Source: BlackRock. Totals may not add up due to rounding.
BlackRock said it now expects to buy back $2 billion of its own shares in 2026. Based on Wednesday’s early price, that amount would pick up around 1.8 million shares, or about 22% of the growth in the diluted share count year over year. That figure assumes BlackRock trades close to $1,095. It doesn’t include employee stock awards or any future HPS-tied units, which could total up to 4.4 million if certain performance targets get hit.
The fee mix spells out the deal. Private markets made up just 2% of BlackRock’s assets but brought in 11% of its base-fee and securities-lending revenue. That puts fee intensity—fee share over asset share—at about 5.5 times BlackRock’s average. Alternatives overall had 3% of assets and 15% of the fees.
| Selected business line | Share of AUM | Share of base fees and securities-lending revenue | Fee intensity versus company average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private markets | 2% | 11% | 5.5 times |
| All alternatives | 3% | 15% | 5.0 times |
| Active strategies | 24% | 42% | 1.8 times |
| ETFs | 41% | 45% | 1.1 times |
| Institutional index | 26% | 5% | 0.2 times |
Certain categories report using separate methods and can’t be added together. BlackRock intensity ratios are based on its reported shares.
That higher-margin business is next to BlackRock’s huge low-cost ETF engine. ETFs pulled in $177.9 billion, or 89% of the company’s $199.1 billion in long-term net inflows. Private markets brought in $15.4 billion, just under 8%, and institutional index products posted $41.5 billion in outflows. These numbers help explain why even a small move into private assets ends up having a bigger impact on earnings than asset totals alone suggest.
BlackRock CEO Laurence Fink said iShares hit $6 trillion in assets under management, about double what it was three years ago. Fink described market fundamentals as “strong and well supported.” Inflows, market gains, and a shift to higher-fee products pushed the firm’s adjusted operating margin up to 45.9%, the best level in nearly five years.
Still, most of that record $15.34 trillion in assets came from markets, not new money. Asset totals climbed $1.45 trillion since March, with $1.284 trillion—roughly 88.5%—driven by market gains. Net inflows amounted to $191.7 billion. Investment realizations and currency moves lowered the figure.
But the exposure to markets can work against the firm, too. If stocks fall, asset-based fee growth will slow, and private credit is still an issue. Investors put in requests to pull 13.3% of shares in the HPS Corporate Lending Fund for the quarter, but the fund stuck to its 5% quarterly redemption limit. Even so, private credit strategies brought in $6 billion in net new money.
BlackRock topped the analyst estimate of $12.59 a share and is raising planned quarterly buybacks to $550 million. The next quarter in September will show if 8% organic base-fee growth and a heavier tilt toward private markets are enough to keep per-share earnings climbing once the HPS boost drops out.
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