BlackRock (BLK), the world’s largest money manager, announced second quarter earnings that exceeded analyst expectations Wednesday.
The company posted earnings-per-share, excluding one-time items, of $4.89, an 18% annual jump. Revenue increased 12% year-over-year to $2.78 billion.
An average of 20 analyst estimates anticipated earnings of $4.46 per share on $2.72 billion in revenue, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“In the second quarter, we saw strong revenue growth driven by a combination of robust organic revenue gains and market tailwinds,”Laurence Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock, said in a statement. “We continue to execute on long-term growth strategies by focusing on key industry trends impacting our clients, including ETFs, alternatives, retirement, outcomes and solutions.”
BlackRock had long-term net inflows of $38 billion in the second-quarter due to gains from retail and iShares clients across asset classes. The inflow into iShares, BlackRock’s ETF platform, led the industry as liquidity-oriented investors increased their participation in rising developed and emerging markets, said Fink.
The strong earnings come in the wake of the company’s disclosure that it may be facing possible civil charges by U.S. Securities authorities related to a former portfolio manager whose personal investments may have presented possible conflicts. BlackRock received a notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 17 about the potential enforcement action.