BlackRock’s assets reached a record $14 trillion during the markets’ recovery in the fourth quarter

BlackRock’s fourth-quarter profit rose above Wall Street estimates on Thursday as a rally in the markets boosted fee income and lifted the firm’s assets under management to a record $14 trillion. Shares of the world’s largest asset manager, which also raised its quarterly dividend by 10% and increased its authorization for share buybacks, rose more than 4% on Thursday.

U.S. stocks rose last year on enthusiasm around artificial intelligence, interest rate cuts and steady economic growth, prompting investors to pour money back into cheaper index strategies. As inflation eased and the labor market cooled, the Federal Reserve became more accommodative, leading to strong inflows into BlackRock’s fixed-income products. Inflows from equity products amounted to $126.05 billion, down slightly from a year ago, while inflows from fixed income products in the quarter amounted to $83.77 billion. Long-term net inflows totaled approximately $267.8 billion, led by the continued strength of the ETF business, the key driver of the company’s organic growth. BlackRock posted net inflows of $698.3 billion for the year.ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with investors looking for low-cost, diversified exposure to different markets.

The company’s performance fees rose 67% to $754 million in the reported period, driven by higher revenues from private markets.

“BlackRock enters 2026 with accelerating momentum across our platform, coming off the strongest year and quarter of net inflows in our history,” BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said in a statement.

BlackRock shares rose just 4.4% in 2025, lagging the benchmark S&P 500 index. PRIVATE MARKET GAME

Asset managers have been working to diversify income by expanding into higher-fee activities rather than low-cost index products.

BlackRock leans more heavily on private markets, real estate and infrastructure, with a particular emphasis on AI-connected assets such as data centers and energy infrastructure. The AI ​​push aims to tap larger, longer-term capital pools and build more stable, higher-margin revenue streams beyond traditional public markets.

Its private markets business generated $12.7 billion in inflows in the quarter. BlackRock targets cumulative fundraising of $400 billion in private markets by 2030. As part of this effort, the company has unveiled plans to include private assets in its retirement plans.

Private assets generate significantly higher fees than exchange-traded funds, a core part of BlackRock’s business through its iShares franchise.

Excluding some one-time costs, net income for the three months ended December 31 rose to $2.18 billion, or $13.16 per share, from $1.87 billion, or $11.93 per share, a year earlier. Analysts on average expected earnings of $12.21 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

BlackRock’s assets under management rose to $14.04 trillion in the quarter, up from $11.55 trillion a year earlier.

Total revenue – most of which is earned as a percentage of assets under management – ​​rose to $7 billion from $5.68 billion a year ago, surpassing analyst expectations of $6.69 billion.

BlackRock’s total expenses rose to $5.35 billion from $3.6 billion last year.