Harvard Endowment Returns 27.1% in Fiscal 2026 and Rises to Nearly $68 Billion, Its Best Year Since 2021
Cambridge, Massachusetts — Harvard University's endowment returned 27.1% in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026, its strongest investment return since 2021, according to the university's annual financial report released on October 15. The fund's value rose 19.3% to nearly $68 billion, an increase of more than $11 billion. The S&P 500 gained 22.3% over the same period, according to Dow Jones Market Data cited by Barron's, and the median return for U.S. college and university endowments was 16.1%, according to Cambridge Associates.
The endowment distributed $2.6 billion in the fiscal year, about 39% of Harvard's operating revenue. The university reported a $100 million operating surplus on $6.7 billion in revenue, a margin of about 1.5%, but a $78.7 million deficit in unrestricted funds, which support general operations. Chief Financial Officer Ritu Kalra and Treasurer Timothy R. Barakett wrote in the report that the surplus is an insufficient measure of Harvard's financial health, because restricted funds are designated for specific purposes and cannot be reallocated at will.
In a second-quarter regulatory filing in August, Harvard disclosed a $2.2 billion stake in Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) — the endowment's largest single holding, worth more than all of its other reported public holdings combined — followed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company at just under $350 million. SpaceX went public in June. Private equity is the portfolio's largest allocation at 46%, Barron's reported.
On taxes, the endowment's investment-income tax rate rises from 1.4% to 8% starting this fiscal year; even at the 1.4% rate that applied in fiscal 2026, Harvard's taxes on investment income more than quadrupled, from $47.3 million to roughly $207 million. Kalra and Barakett estimated the higher rate will cost roughly $300 million a year. Federally sponsored research revenue fell 19.5% in fiscal 2026 to $509 million. Narv Narvekar, chief executive of Harvard Management Company, which runs the endowment, wrote that fiscal 2026 represents a short-term return on a long-term portfolio and that it is reassuring to see it strengthen the endowment's ability to support the university in the decades ahead.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：哈佛园及周边航拍（资料图）。图片来源：Nick Allen，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0。Photo: Aerial view of Harvard Yard and environs (file photo). Image: Nick Allen, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
