BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) released its earnings report for the three months through September 30 this wronging before the market opened on Wall Street. The company showed earnings of $4.21 per share for the three month period on revenue totaling $2.47 billion. Later on today the company’s shares will open at $282.27.
Analysts studying BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) were looking for earnings per share of $3.89 on revenues totaling $2.5 billion. In the same three months of last year BlackRock earned $3.47 per share on revenue of $2.4 billion. BlackRock’s beat this morning looks strong, but a large amount of it is based on one-off earnings.
BlackRock earnings
According to the company’s release on third quarter earnings, assets under management increased in the period by 12%. The metric stood at $4.096 trillion at the end of the quarter. BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) is the single largest investment firm in the world. iShares, BlackRock’s ETF business, saw net inflows of $20.2 billion in the period.
BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) is the biggest player in the ETF business, and the company’s funds have been incredibly successful as the instruments become more popular with retail investors. That business is expected to be a major driver of growth at the company in the years ahead, as it was in the most recent quarter.
BlackRock performance
On the back of its investment and fund management successes in 2013, BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) shares have risen in value by around 37%. The firm’s stock was inactive this morning, so it isn’t quite clear what the market’s opinion of the release is.
BlackRock’s phenomenal performance in recent quarters, including a beat on expectations in each of the last six reports, has priced a lot of growth into the company’s shares. BlackRock is trading at more than eighteen times earnings at the moment, though the stock is only trading at seventeen times expected earnings for 2013.
BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) executives will host an earnings call at 9:30 AM EST in order to discuss this morning’s release.
