It's safe to say BlackRock Inc. had a stellar year in 2024, with its latest earnings showing the New York-based asset manager's assets under management hit a new high of $11.55 trillion at the end of last year's fourth quarter.
From an exchange-traded fund perspective, the report showed that of the record $641 billion in investor inflows for the year ended Dec. 31, $390 billion went into ETFs, with $226 billion going into stocks and $164 billion into fixed income.
BlackRock shares rose more than 4% in midday trading on Wednesday after the company reported annual net profit of $1.67 billion, a 21% increase from 2023.
"BlackRock ticks all the boxes in terms of organic growth," said CFRA analyst Catherine Seifert.
"But the other thing BlackRock has is the ability and willingness to grow strategically through acquisitions and expand into private assets and alternative markets," she added. “The demand for these assets is huge and the extent to which BlackRock can capitalize is huge.”
The asset manager was the biggest winner in the heated race for a Bitcoin ETF, which received approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last January.
Valued at nearly $46 billion iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) That’s more than twice the size of the second-largest Bitcoin ETF.
Seifert maintains a "buy" rating on BlackRock stock with a 12-month price target 17% above where the stock currently trades, and he expects the company to continue to lead innovation, including in private assets and in-house packaging alternatives. Democratize” ETF.
"If we look further out, I see integration or impact of their growing private markets business with some retail-oriented products like ETFs," she said.
The positive earnings report follows news of the departure of senior executive Mark Wiedman later this year. Vindman is often seen as the favorite to succeed BlackRock founder Larry Fink, 72.
"Who will take over from Larry Fink in the parlor game is an ongoing topic," Seifert said. "Any surprises for BlackRock will be on the management side and the company may be at an inflection point, but I don't think Fink is in any rush to give up his job."
Widman's announcement comes after another senior executive, Salim Ramji, resigned last year to become CEO of Vanguard Group.
"There's a level of uncertainty, which is why Larry Fink highlighted BlackRock's strength and depth in his opening remarks on the earnings call," Seifert added.