The Revenue LinesWide moat

BlackRock (BLK) — moat facet

Four-fifths of BlackRock is one line, a percentage of other people's assets; two of the other four were bought.

BlackRock reports five revenue lines, and one of them is the company. Revenue was $24,216 million in 2025, of which base fees and securities lending were $19,179 million, technology services $1,981 million, performance fees $1,424 million, distribution fees $1,355 million and advisory and other revenue $277 million 1. The first line is 79% of the total 2.

Base fees per dollar of average AUM (basis points)15.5bp202314.9bp202415.0bp202515.7bpQ2 2026, annualisedBlackRock Form 10-K FY2025 and 10-Q Q2 2026; base fees over average of period-end AUM
The fee rate stopped falling in 2025 and rose in 2026, on private markets.

Two of the four smaller lines were bought. Performance fees went from $554 million in 2023 to $1,424 million in 2025, most of the increase in private markets, where the HPS and GIP acquisitions landed 3. Technology revenue rose 24% in 2025, and about $210 million of it came from Preqin 4. The third, distribution fees, is mostly money passed through to the brokers who sell BlackRock's mutual funds: the company recognises the fees and the matching costs gross 5.

BlackRock reports as one segment, so it discloses no profit by line. What it does disclose is where the base fees come from, which is why the first leaf is the longest and why The Fee Mix Nobody Reads covers the same table from the moat side. Aladdin's competitive position is covered under Aladdin: The Software Its Rivals Run On; the leaves here stay with the revenue.

The latest quarter moved every line up. Revenue was $7,084 million in Q2 2026 against $5,423 million a year earlier, with base fees and securities lending at $5,726 million, performance fees $305 million, technology $566 million, distribution fees $395 million and advisory and other $92 million 6. Growth of 31% in a quarter is mostly markets and HPS, which closed after the comparison quarter.

The leaves follow the chart's bands. The test for the five together is simple: whether base fees keep growing at least as fast as the assets they are charged on. In 2025 they did, at about 15.0 basis points of average assets against 14.9 the year before and 15.5 in 2023 7.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

Base fees held at about 15 basis points of average assets in 2024 and 2025 after falling from 15.5 in 2023.

The number that tests this moat
Moat Explorer calc
Base fees per dollar of average assets
About 15.0bp in 2025, from 14.9bp in 2024 and 15.5bp in 2023

The single figure that decides whether AUM growth reaches revenue; a return to decline would mean the acquisitions only paused it.

How it's calculated: Base fees and securities lending / average of year-end total AUM
Source: BlackRock Form 10-K FY2025 ↗
Dig deeper
DIG DEEPER 01
Base fees and securities lending
A price that fell for years on a volume that kept rising, until private markets stopped the fall in 2025.
DIG DEEPER 02
Technology services
The one line sold on contracts rather than asset values, and more than half of its 2025 growth was an acquisition.
DIG DEEPER 03
Performance fees
The line HPS and GIP were bought to fill, and in the first half of 2026 it finally did.
DIG DEEPER 04
Distribution fees
Revenue on the page and a cost in practice: BlackRock pays its distributors $1.82 for every dollar of these fees.
DIG DEEPER 05
Advisory and other
One percent of revenue, and a quiet record of what BlackRock's strategic stakes earn.
References
  1. ReportedRevenue was $24,216 million in 2025, of which base fees and securities lending were $19,179 million, technology services $1,981 million, performance fees $1,424 million, distribution fees $1,355 million and advisory and other revenue $277 million .
    BlackRock, Inc. Form 10-K FY2025 - revenue by line and base fees by product and client type 2023-2025, securities lending revenue, performance fees by product, distribution and servicing costs, AUM 2021-2025, technology ACV growth, revenue recognition notes, operating margin — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. February 2026 · source ↗
  2. Moat Explorer calcThe first line is 79% of the total .
    Moat Explorer calculation from BlackRock's Form 10-K FY2025 and Q2 2026 Form 10-Q: shares of revenue, growth rates, base fees per dollar of average AUM, distribution costs per dollar of distribution fees — FY2023 to Q2 2026 · publ. 2026-09-23 · source ↗
  3. ReportedPerformance fees went from $554 million in 2023 to $1,424 million in 2025, most of the increase in private markets, where the HPS and GIP acquisitions landed .
    BlackRock, Inc. Form 10-K FY2025 - revenue by line and base fees by product and client type 2023-2025, securities lending revenue, performance fees by product, distribution and servicing costs, AUM 2021-2025, technology ACV growth, revenue recognition notes, operating margin — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. February 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedTechnology revenue rose 24% in 2025, and about $210 million of it came from Preqin .
    BlackRock, Inc. Form 10-K FY2025 - revenue by line and base fees by product and client type 2023-2025, securities lending revenue, performance fees by product, distribution and servicing costs, AUM 2021-2025, technology ACV growth, revenue recognition notes, operating margin — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. February 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedThe third, distribution fees, is mostly money passed through to the brokers who sell BlackRock's mutual funds: the company recognises the fees and the matching costs gross .
    BlackRock, Inc. Form 10-K FY2025 - revenue by line and base fees by product and client type 2023-2025, securities lending revenue, performance fees by product, distribution and servicing costs, AUM 2021-2025, technology ACV growth, revenue recognition notes, operating margin — FY2023-FY2025 · publ. February 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedRevenue was $7,084 million in Q2 2026 against $5,423 million a year earlier, with base fees and securities lending at $5,726 million, performance fees $305 million, technology $566 million, distribution fees $395 million and advisory and other $92 million .
    BlackRock, Inc. Form 10-Q, quarter ended 30 June 2026 - revenue by line, base fees by product and client type, performance fees by product, distribution costs, AUM by client type and product — Q2 2026 · publ. August 2026 · source ↗
  7. Moat Explorer calcIn 2025 they did, at about 15.0 basis points of average assets against 14.9 the year before and 15.5 in 2023 .
    Moat Explorer calculation from BlackRock's Form 10-K FY2025 and Q2 2026 Form 10-Q: shares of revenue, growth rates, base fees per dollar of average AUM, distribution costs per dollar of distribution fees — FY2023 to Q2 2026 · publ. 2026-09-23 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 23, 2026