BlackRock, Inc.’s BLK first-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings of $7.77 per share outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.64. The figure reflects a rise of 17.7% from the year-ago quarter’s number.Results benefited from an improvement in revenues and lower expenses. Further, long-term net inflows supported growth in assets under management (AUM) balance, which was a major positive for the company.Net income attributable to BlackRock (on a GAAP basis) was $1.2 billion, up 48.8% from the prior-year quarter.Revenues Improve & Expenses FallRevenues (on a GAAP basis) came in at $4.4 billion, increasing 18.6% year over year. This upside stemmed from an increase in almost all components of revenues, except for advisory and other revenues, and securities lending revenue. Moreover, the figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.35 billion.Total expenses amounted to $2.85 billion, down 5.7% from the year-ago quarter. This fall mainly resulted from a 48.8% decline in general and administration costs.Non-operating income (on a GAAP basis) was $46 million as against the non-operating expenses of $71 million seen in the year-ago quarter.BlackRock’s adjusted operating income was $1.55 billion, substantially up from $ in the prior year quarter.Net Inflows Support AUM GrowthAs of Mar 31, 2021, AUM totaled $9.01 trillion, reflecting a jump of 39.3% year over year. In the reported quarter, the company witnessed long-term net inflows of $133 billion.Share Repurchase UpdateBlackRock repurchased shares worth $300 million during the reported quarter.Our ViewpointBlackRock’s continued efforts to strengthen the iShares and ETF operations, along with its initiatives to restructure the actively-managed equity business, are expected to continue boosting the top line and AUM in the days to come. In addition, its inorganic growth efforts bode well for the future.BlackRock, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise BlackRock, Inc. price-eps-surprise | BlackRock, Inc. Quote BlackRock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Earnings Release Schedule of Other Asset ManagersSEI Investments Company SEIC and Cohen & Steers, Inc. CNS are slated to release figures on Apr 21, whereas The Blackstone Group Inc. BX is scheduled to report quarterly numbers on Apr 22.More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 77 billion devices by 2025, creating a $1.3 trillion market.Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 4 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2022.Click here for the 4 trades >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Blackstone Group IncThe (BX): Get Free Report BlackRock, Inc. (BLK): Free Stock Analysis Report Cohen & Steers Inc (CNS): Free Stock Analysis Report SEI Investments Company (SEIC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research