The world's largest shadow bank—BlackRock—has $7.43 trillion in assets under management (including data from its 2019 annual report and its top ten holdings).

As of this Friday’s closing price of $206.26, Microsoft’s year-to-date appreciation has increased BlackRock’s latest holding in the company to $106.843 billion—a 125.66% increase from year-end 2023. BlackRock’s second-largest equity holding is Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares, with 117 million shares reported in its annual report; at the time, their market value stood at $26.567 billion, accounting for 14% of BlackRock’s total public equity investments. This Friday’s closing price was: BlackRock adjusted its position slightly during Q1: it now holds 110 million shares (see chart below), representing a 7.93% stake in Berkshire Hathaway’s Class B shares. At Friday’s share price, this holding is valued at $19.671 billion. BlackRock’s third-largest holding is JPMorgan Chase, constituting 8.2% of its total public equity investments. The annual report disclosed a holding of 109.1 million shares, with a year-end market value of $15.211 billion. JPMorgan Chase’s latest closing price this Friday was $92.66; BlackRock’s updated position stands at 204 million shares—6.72% of JPMorgan’s total outstanding shares—and its current market value is $18.903 billion. Its fourth-largest holding is General Motors (see chart above), significantly smaller than the top three. Valued at Friday’s closing price of $147.30 per share, this position is worth $2.367 billion—representing 5.57% of GM’s total outstanding shares. BlackRock also holds a board seat at GM, which remains uncontested. Its fifth-largest holding is American Express (see chart above), trading at $94.33 on Friday, with a current market value of $4.046 billion. The sixth through tenth largest holdings are Johnson & Johnson, Visa, Procter & Gamble, Novartis, and AstraZeneca—detailed data shown in the chart below. The aggregate market value of these top ten holdings stood at $141.158 billion as of year-end 2023. Adding all other equity positions, BlackRock’s total public equity investments amounted to $185.706 billion, per its annual report. As of this Friday, the combined market value of these top ten holdings totals $223.49996 billion—an increase of 58.33% year-on-year, driven by both portfolio adjustments and share price movements. This figure excludes dozens of other equity positions. Below is BlackRock’s balance sheet from its 2019 annual report: Total assets: $186.149 billion Total liabilities: $443 million Net assets: $185.706 billion Beyond trading equities, bonds, foreign exchange, and other financial derivatives, BlackRock leverages its massive capital pool to invest strategically in sectors it deems promising. For publicly listed companies—for instance, Microsoft, where BlackRock holds a 6.8% stake, or Berkshire Hathaway’s Class B shares, where it holds 7.93%—it secures influence and board representation. For private companies, it makes direct equity investments and executes mergers and acquisitions, granting it unparalleled influence across the private sector—an impact that left me deeply impressed. As Larry Fink noted in his letter to shareholders in the annual report: global economic growth is slowing, geopolitical uncertainty is rising, and trade tensions are intensifying—prompting the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates three times starting in July last year, aiming to boost market liquidity.

2025.04.15 BlackRock Q1 2025 Earnings Report

Previous quarter: 2025.01.16 (Earnings season launch) — BlackRock Q4 Snapshot Has BlackRock become the most well-known asset management firm in Simplified Chinese media due to its port transaction with Li Ka-shing? According to the earnings call, BlackRock’s clients have not been deterred by recent market volatility—in fact, they’ve allocated more funds to BlackRock (though some may have directed those flows toward European equities or crypto assets—just kidding!) The year-on-year decline in EPS is primarily attributable to equity dilution resulting from recent acquisitions. Nevertheless, dividend payouts and share repurchases remain robust, with the market capitalization / shareholder return (dividends + buybacks) ratio standing at approximately 30. At first glance, the only concerning item in the report is elevated expenses and declining profit margins—yet it remains unclear whether this reflects seasonal fluctuations or temporary pressures stemming from the acquisitions. Assuming BlackRock achieves 6% organic growth in management fee revenue for the full year, its current P/E ratio of 21 appears reasonable—but upside potential may be limited.

BlackRock Reports Sole Voting Power Over 11.2M RPM International Shares

4 days ago

BlackRock filed an amended Schedule 13G disclosing 9.2% ownership of RPM International Inc., with sole voting power over 11.2 million shares representing a significant passive stake.

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BlackRock Reports Sole Voting Power Over 11.2M RPM International Shares

BlackRock Reports Sole Voting Power Over 11.2M RPM International Shares

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