BlackRock's Record Asset Holdings Are Half The Size Of US Economy
BlackRock ended the third quarter with $15.49 trillion in assets under management, a record, after $205 billion of net client inflows, according to its earnings release filed with the SEC on Oct. 14.
GAAP earnings came to $10.57 a share, and as-adjusted earnings to $15.93. Revenue rose 19 percent to $7.75 billion, and the company said it has raised $68 billion in private markets over the last twelve months. Its AI Infrastructure Partnership made its first deployment during the quarter.
Chairman and CEO Larry Fink said clients "entrusted us with $205 billion of net inflows this quarter, and $869 billion over the last year." He added: "We're entering our seasonally strongest fourth quarter with accelerating momentum."
As the Epoch Times notes further, the company drew almost $135 billion in net new flows into its flagship iShares exchange-traded funds, also known as ETFs.
It also repurchased $550 million of its shares during the quarter, delivering stronger value to current shareholders.
"Market fundamentals are strong and well supported, with higher margins and earnings momentum catalyzed by new technology," CEO Larry Fink said in a statement.
Looking ahead to the final three months of 2026, Fink noted that BlackRock has plenty of momentum and a broad pipeline of opportunities across multiple business segments, including private markets and retirement funds.
BlackRock popped as much as 5 percent following the earnings data but erased its gains as the midweek session progressed.
Private Credit Improvements
The private credit industry has been under tremendous strain this year, reflecting the so-called "SaaSpocalypse" and increasing concerns surrounding lenders' exposure to software companies.
This was observed in the wave of redemption requests.
But BlackRock's push into private credit markets does not seem affected by the sector's widespread pressures.
In a call with analysts, CFO Martin Small suggested that investment demand for private credit has been solid.
Net inflows into its private credit funds rose by $5 billion from the previous quarter, according to the earnings report.
"We think there's a much larger opportunity that's more durable in delivering private high-grade private credit in for debt across our platform and just deepening our client relationships over time," Small said.
Additionally, BlackRock's client redemptions, which have been in focus for the broader industry since the start of 2026, have eased modestly.
Redemption requests for its Corporate Lending Fund fell to about 11.5 percent of shares in the latest quarter, down from 13.3 percent in the second quarter.
But while private credit stress appears to be dissipating, Moody's warned the situation could be worse than reported default rates suggest.
"Asset quality risks are mounting among weaker middle market borrowers in the US private credit market as higher-for-longer interest rates, refinancing challenges, redemption pressures and persistent concerns over transparency weigh on performance," the firm said in an Oct. 14 report.
Earnings Season So Far
Third-quarter earnings season started on Oct. 13, beginning with some of the big banks.
Tuesday's results were mixed but not concerning, says Tom Essaye, president and co-founder of The Sevens Research Report.
"The results of those earnings were mixed, but none of the reports provided the type of surprise that would have impacted the broader market and the S&P 500," Essaye said in a note emailed to The Epoch Times.
Oct. 14 was better, with Morgan Stanley, Progressive, and State Street beating Wall Street expectations on earnings per share.
Blackstone will be the next major investment manager to release its performance from the past three months.
The consensus estimate points to $1.46 in earnings per share and $3.65 billion in revenue, according to Trading Economics.