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Shares of BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, fell on Tuesday after the company posted a weaker-than-expected revenue for the third quarter.
BlackRock said its revenue totaled $3.576 billion, while analysts polled by Refinitiv expected sales to clock in at $3.648 billion. Sales from BlackRock’s advisory, administration and lending business hit $2.88 billion, below a StreetAccount estimate of $2.97 billion.
The news sent BlackRock’s stock down more than 4 percent.
However, the asset-management giant also posted adjusted earnings per share of $7.52, while analysts expected a profit of $6.84. BlackRock’s reported bottom line represents a 27 percent jump from the year-earlier period, when its posted a profit of $5.90 per share.
BlackRock’s earnings got a boost from lower taxes. The company’s effective tax rate dropped to 16 percent from 30.6 percent a year ago.
The company’s assets under management grew by 8 percent to $6.444 trillion in the third quarter from $5.976 trillion in the period in 2017. Assets also grew by 2.3 percent from $6.299 trillion in the second quarter.
BlackRock’s assets growth was driven by its iShares business, which saw inflows of $33.7 billion. Overall, long-term net inflows for BlackRock totaled $10.6 billion in the third quarter.
Still, the company’s assets under management fell slightly short of a $6.498 trillion estimate as BlackRock’s index funds and active management businesses experienced a combined $24.8 billion in outflows. Cash management net outflows also hit $14.6 billion in the quarter.
CEO Larry Fink told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday the company saw massive outflows before a more than 4 percent drop in the S&P 500 last week.
“There’s a huge commentary that we [the market] are at peak earnings,” Fink said, adding that commentary is debatable, and the firm expects “we have a couple more good quarters.”
BlackRock shares are down sharply this year, falling more than 16 percent in 2018 through Monday’s close. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is up nearly 3 percent year to date.
During his appearance on CNBC, Fink also said BlackRock won’t cut ties with Saudi Arabia if it turns out the kingdom ordered the slaying of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi.