Performance feesNarrow moat

BlackRock (BLK) — moat facet

The line HPS and GIP were bought to fill, and in the first half of 2026 it finally did.

Performance fees are what BlackRock earns when a fund beats a hurdle, and they are the line that grew fastest. They were $554 million in 2023, $1,207 million in 2024 and $1,424 million in 2025 1, about 6% of revenue 2.

Performance fees by source ($m)$308mPrivate mkts 2024$695mPrivate mkts 2025$680mLiquid alts 2024$558mLiquid alts 2025$369mPrivate mkts H1 2026BlackRock Form 10-K FY2025 and 10-Q Q2 2026
Private markets overtook liquid alternatives in 2025, and the first half of 2026 was already more than half of 2025.

They come overwhelmingly from alternatives. In 2025 alternatives supplied $1,253 million of the total: private markets $695 million and liquid alternatives $558 million 3. Equity funds added $132 million and fixed income $16 million 4. The mix changed sharply in two years: in 2024 liquid alternatives earned $680 million and private markets $308 million 5.

That shift is the acquisitions. The filing attributes the 2025 increase primarily to private markets, including the impact of the HPS Transaction, partly offset by lower liquid alternatives fees 6. Private markets performance fees are carried interest: they arrive when funds sell assets at a gain, years after the capital was raised. Liquid alternatives fees crystallise on schedule, usually yearly, on hedge-fund-style returns.

BlackRock does not disclose what the line earns after the compensation it drives; with one reporting segment, there is no profit figure for it at all. What can be said is that it is the most volatile revenue BlackRock has: it more than doubled in 2024 and then rose 18% in 2025, driven by different businesses each time.

The latest half is the best on record. Performance fees were $305 million in Q2 2026 against $94 million a year earlier, and $577 million in the first half against $154 million 7. Private markets supplied $369 million of the first half against $63 million 8, so the HPS and GIP funds are now realising.

The outlook depends on exits, not on BlackRock. Carried interest needs private assets to be sold at a gain, which needs buyers and open credit markets. The figure that tests whether the acquisitions bought a durable earnings stream is private markets performance fees for the full year 2026: above 2025's $695 million, and realisations are steady; below it, 2025 was a harvest of older funds.

Moat trajectory: Widening

Private markets performance fees were $369m in H1 2026 against $63m a year earlier.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Private markets performance fees, first half
$369m in H1 2026, against $63m in H1 2025

Full-year private markets performance fees above 2025's $695m would show the acquired funds realising steadily.

Source: BlackRock Form 10-Q, Q2 2026 ↗
References
  1. ReportedThey were $554 million in 2023, $1,207 million in 2024 and $1,424 million in 2025 , about 6% of revenue .
    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 calcThey were $554 million in 2023, $1,207 million in 2024 and $1,424 million in 2025 , about 6% of revenue .
    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. ReportedIn 2025 alternatives supplied $1,253 million of the total: private markets $695 million and liquid alternatives $558 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 ↗
  4. ReportedEquity funds added $132 million and fixed income $16 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 ↗
  5. ReportedThe mix changed sharply in two years: in 2024 liquid alternatives earned $680 million and private markets $308 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 ↗
  6. ReportedThe filing attributes the 2025 increase primarily to private markets, including the impact of the HPS Transaction, partly offset by lower liquid alternatives fees .
    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 ↗
  7. ReportedPerformance fees were $305 million in Q2 2026 against $94 million a year earlier, and $577 million in the first half against $154 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 ↗
  8. ReportedPrivate markets supplied $369 million of the first half against $63 million , so the HPS and GIP funds are now realising.
    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 ↗
Sources
Generated September 23, 2026