BlackRock Earnings: Quarterly Profitability Streak Continues

BlackRock Inc. (NYSE:BLK) reported its results for the second quarter. BlackRock, along with its subsidiaries, provides investment management services to institutional clients and to individual investors through various investment vehicles.

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BlackRock Inc. Earnings Cheat Sheet

Results: Net income for the finance-investment management fell to $554 million ($3.08 per share) vs. $619 million ($3.21 per share) a year earlier. This is a decline of 10.5% from the year-earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: BlackRock Inc. reported adjusted net income of $3.10 per share. By that measure, the company beat the mean estimate of $3.03 per share.

Quoting Management: “Our second quarter 2012 financial performance again demonstrated the strength and resilience of BlackRock’s diversified platform and our commitment to delivering for shareholders,” said Laurence D. Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock. “Despite market headwinds and the growing defensive posture of investors, we delivered consistent results quarter-over-quarter with $832 million in adjusted operating income and diluted EPS of $3.10. Our global platform and breadth of investment products and solutions positioned us effectively to serve clients in this environment, allowing us to attract positive long-term flows overall with particular strength in passive products in the face of broader industry contraction. Additionally, our pipeline, predominantly representing our institutional business, stood at $54.8 billion in mid-July.”

Key Stats:

The company has now surpassed analyst estimates for four quarters in a row. It beat the mark by 13 cents in the first quarter, by 6 cents in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year, and by 9 cents in the third quarter of the last fiscal year.

Net income has increased 5.2% year-over-year on average across the last five quarters. The biggest gain came in the second quarter of the last fiscal year, when income climbed 43.3% from the year-earlier quarter.

Looking Forward: Over the past ninety days, the average estimate for the third quarter has fallen from $3.34 per share to $3.30, indicating that analysts are growing pessimistic about the company’s performance next quarter. At $13.17 per share, the average estimate for the fiscal year has fallen from $13.34 ninety days ago.

Competitors to Watch: Morgan Stanley, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., American Intl. Group, Inc., Barclays PLC, Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Invesco Ltd., UBS AG, Affiliated Managers Group, Inc., and Franklin Resources, Inc.

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(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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