BlackRock earnings above expectations

The world's largest asset management mutual fund, BlackRock (BLK.US) opened the earnings season among the US financial sector. The fund showed results above expectations although assets under management (AUM) fell. BlackRock's revenue and earnings, however, again fell weaker than Wall Street expected. The fund's shares have fallen more than 40% this year, trading slightly higher before the open:

Earnings per share (EPS) $9.55 vs. $7.06 forecast (FactSet) 

Revenue: $4.31 billion vs. $4.20 billion forecast (down 14.6% y/y)

AUM: $7.96 trillion vs. $8.3 trillion forecast (16% decrease y/y)

• Looking at BlackRock's client types, inflows from ETFs (up $22.37 billion) and institutions (up $47.73 billion) increased. In contrast, inflows from the retail segment declined (down $4.89 billion). Net income also declined, coming in at $1.41 billion compared to $1.68 billion in the same quarter of 2021;
• UBS analysts downgraded their recommendation on BlackRock recently and forecast a drop in inflows to $440 billion next year from $540 billion in the record-breaking 2021 quarter. The active ESG activities of the fund's manager, Larurenc Fink, have not affected the fund's margins. In addition, BlackRock's activities are opposed by Republicans, who are favored by the mood ahead of the midterms elections. Analysts note the increase in political risk, which does not favor the fund.

BlackRock (BLK.US) stock chart, W1 interval. The fund's shares have been under supply-side pressure since the beginning of the year and are diving nearly 20% below the SMA200. Source: xStation5