BlackRock American Income Trust plc
LEI: 549300WWOCXSC241W468
Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 October 2025
Key highlights
- Introduction of a new innovative and differentiated investment mandate managed by BlackRock’s Systematic Active Equity team, that combines human insight with big data and AI, retaining a focus on value stocks with an attractive dividend, and at a lower fee.
- Net asset value per share (NAV) total return and share price total return for the year were +11.5% and +20.9% respectively, compared to a total return of the index of +8.4%. (All performance in sterling terms with dividends reinvested).
- Enhanced dividend policy introduced with payment of quarterly dividends equivalent to 1.5% of the Company’s net asset value, equivalent to 6% of net assets value annually.
- As a result of the changes and positive sentiment towards the Company, the discount reduced significantly to -5.0% by 31 October 2025 and as at close of business on 30 January, the share price was at -1.2% discount to net asset value per share.
David Barron, the Chairman of the Company said:
“The Company’s systematic investment approach, which we believe is truly innovative and the first of its kind in the UK investment company sector, its diversified exposure to US value stocks beyond the US mega cap names, and its enhanced income mean it is a truly differentiated proposition. We are pleased that since the change in strategy, the Company has outperformed its benchmark and seen a significant narrowing of its discount. The Board is confident that the strategy will continue to deliver for investors over the long-term. We thank shareholders for their support during the year.” Performance record
Performance Record
| As at 31 October 2025 | As at 31 October 2024 | |
| Net assets (£’000)1 | 129,499 | 155,067 |
| Net asset value per ordinary share (pence) | 229.56 | 216.24 |
| Ordinary share price (pence) | 218.00 | 190.00 |
| Ongoing charges2 | 0.73% | 1.06% |
| Discount to cum income net asset value2 | 5.0% | 12.1% |
| Russell 1000 Value Index – net total return3 | 2747.32 | 2533.77 |
| Performance (with dividends reinvested) | For the year ended 31 October 2025 | For the year ended 31 October 2024 |
| Net asset value per share2 | 11.5% | 16.0% |
| Ordinary share price2 | 20.9% | 13.8% |
| Russell 1000 Value Index – net total return3 | 8.4% | 23.2% |
| Performance (with dividends reinvested) | For the five year period ended 31 October 2025 | For the five year period ended 31 October 2024 | For the period since inception to 31 October 2025 | For the period since inception to 31 October 2024 |
| Net asset value per share2 | 78.3% | 45.8% | 286.3% | 246.5% |
| Ordinary share price2 | 86.4% | 26.5% | 268.3% | 204.7% |
| Russell 1000 Value Index – net total return3 | 88.7% | 60.4% | 350.1% | 315.1% |
| For the year ended 31 October 2025 | For the year ended 31 October 2024 | % Change | |
| Revenue | |||
| Net profit after taxation (£’000) | 1,781 | 2,604 | -31.6 |
| Revenue earnings per ordinary share (pence)4 | 2.83 | 3.39 | -16.5 |
| ————— | ————— | ————— | |
| Interim dividends (pence) | |||
| 1st interim | 2.00 | 2.00 | – |
| 2nd interim | 3.03 | 2.00 | 51.5 |
| 3rd interim | 3.23 | 2.00 | 61.5 |
| 4th interim | 3.44 | 2.00 | 72.0 |
| ————— | ————— | ————— | |
| Total dividends payable/paid | 11.70 | 8.00 | 46.3 |
1 The change in net assets reflects portfolio movements, shares repurchased into treasury, shares tendered and dividends paid during the year.
2 Alternative Performance Measures, see Glossary in the Company’s Annual Report for the year ended 31 October 2025.
3 The Company’s performance benchmark (the Russell 1000 Value Index) may be calculated on either a gross or a net total return basis. Net total return (NR) indices calculate the reinvestment of dividends net of withholding taxes using the tax rates applicable to non-resident institutional investors, and hence give a lower total return than indices where calculations are on a gross total return basis. As the Company is subject to the same withholding tax rates for the countries in which it invests, the NR basis is felt to be the most accurate, appropriate, consistent and fair comparison for the Company.
4 Further details are given in the Glossary in the Company’s Annual Report for the year ended 31 October 2025.
Chairman’s Statement
Dear Shareholder
Introduction
This has been a year of significant development for your Company. Before turning to a review of performance, outlook and the Board report on the strategy of the Company, it is worth reviewing the changes which shareholders approved.
The changes proposed by the Board reflected our desire to deliver a more compelling and scalable proposition for shareholders by adopting a differentiated, lower-cost approach while retaining the Company’s value-oriented philosophy. The new mandate, managed by BlackRock’s Systematic Active Equity team, commenced on 17 April 2025.
The package of measures put forward by the Board included the following:
- shareholders were invited to participate in a tender offer of up to 20% of the shares in issue. The tender was undersubscribed with approximately 16.15% of the share capital being tendered;
- those shareholders who remained invested benefitted from a six-month fee holiday to 31 October 2025, resulting in a more competitive ongoing charges ratio for the year. The management fee agreed at the times of the proposal was 0.35% on net assets up to £350 million and 0.30% in excess of £350 million (reduced from 0.70% on net assets);
- a regular quarterly dividend equivalent to 1.5% of the Company’s net asset value equivalent to 6% of net asset value annually;
- a commitment to offer a tender should the investment management performance not exceed the benchmark by a margin of 0.5% over the three years following the introduction of the new strategy.
The transition to the new investment strategy was implemented with minimal transaction costs on a single day.
The Board is encouraged by the positive performance achieved since the new mandate took effect and by the meaningful narrowing of the discount over the period. While it remains early in the life of the new strategy, these developments provide a promising foundation as the Company seeks to deliver attractive returns and income to shareholders, through a differentiated systematic approach that blends data science and investment expertise. At the time of the tender, the price at which shares could be tendered was 192.05p. The discount on the day prior to announcement of the proposals was 6.6%. As at 30 January 2026, the share price was 234.00p and the discount to NAV is 1.2%. Performance is discussed in greater detail below however since the introduction of the new investment approach, the NAV has outperformed the benchmark by 3.7%.
Market overview
US equity markets delivered solid gains over the year to 31 October 2025 despite considerable political and economic volatility. Early concerns around the impact of widespread trade tariffs, slowing growth and a weaker US Dollar weighed on sentiment, but conditions improved meaningfully as the year progressed. Inflation continued to ease, the Federal Reserve began to cut interest rates, and economic activity rebounded strongly in the second quarter. Targeted policy actions from the new US administration also supported areas such as AI and technology supply chains. These developments helped restore risk appetite and supported a broadly positive market backdrop.
Performance
Over the year to 31 October 2025, the Company’s net asset value per share (NAV) returned +11.5% and the share price returned +20.9%. This compares with a rise of +8.4% of the Company’s benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index – net total return1 (all figures are in Sterling terms with dividends reinvested). In the same period, and as a broader comparison, the S&P 500 Index was up by +18.4%.
From the date of the Company’s change of strategy on 17 April 2025, the Company’s NAV returned +22.0% and the share price return +19.1%, compared with the Company’s benchmark which rose by +18.3%.
Since the financial year end and up to close of business on 30 January 2026, the Company’s NAV had increased by 4.8% (with dividends reinvested). More details on this and the significant contributors to and detractors from performance during the year are given in the Investment Manager’s Report.
Revenue earnings and dividends
During the year, the Company adopted an enhanced dividend policy, approved by shareholders. The Company’s ability to pay the enhanced dividends is no longer reliant on revenue generation to fund dividend. Revenue earnings per share for the year were 2.83p (2024: 3.39p), reflecting the change in investment approach which does not specifically look to generate revenue return. One dividend was paid under the previous policy, with the remaining three dividends paid in accordance with the new approach, whereby the Company distributes 1.5% of net asset value each quarter.
In total, shareholders received dividends of 11.70p per share during the year, reflecting three quarterly payments at an annualised rate of 6% of net asset value and one payment made under the previous dividend policy. Based on the share price at 31 October 2025, this represents a dividend yield of 5.4%. The Board continues to believe that the enhanced policy provides shareholders with an attractive and sustainable income level while enabling ongoing exposure to the breadth of the US equity market.
Management of share rating
The Directors recognise the importance to investors that the market price of the Company’s shares should not trade at a significant premium or discount to the underlying NAV. The Board regards the successful delivery of an attractive long-term investment proposition as a key driver of the rating of the Company’s shares. This was one of the factors driving the changes implemented earlier in the year. We also recognise that whilst systematic investing is well-established in other markets, it is less known here. As a Board, we have spent significant time with the BlackRock teams responsible for promoting the Company. The systematic approach has a long and highly credible track record and BlackRock has committed significant resource, know-how and thought to how to build consumer awareness of the Company and its approach in our key target markets. The success of both the investment approach and the promotion of the Company to establish the benefits to shareholders of what the Board believes is a new and innovative approach in the investment trust sector, will be a key determinant of the achievement of our strategic aims.
In the broader market, the investment trust sector average discount remained relatively wide over the year as markets were affected by volatility stemming from increased geopolitical instability and election uncertainty in both the US and Europe as well as structural shifts in the pattern of demand for investment company shares. Within this context, the AIC North America sector traded at an average discount of 21.5% as at 31 October 2025. While the Company experienced a wider discount earlier in the year, the change in strategy implemented on 17 April 2025 has coincided with a noticeable improvement in investor sentiment.
The Company’s discount narrowed meaningfully following the transition and stood at 5.0% as at 31 October 2025. As at the date of this report, the Company’s discount stood at 1.2%. The Company retains its powers to buyback shares and resolutions to renew the authorities to issue and buy back shares will be put to shareholders at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. The most recent buyback took place on 1 August 2025. Since 31 October 2025 to date, the prevailing narrow discount has been supported by investor demand, and there have been no additional shares bought back.
Over the Company’s financial year to end 31 October 2025, the Company’s shares have traded at an average discount of 6.3%. During the year, the Company purchased 4,386,580 shares (4.6% of shares in issue) at an average price of 206.01p per share at an average discount of 8.4% for a total cost of £9,037,000. Figures exclude the shares repurchased through the tender offer, under which 10,910,252 shares were bought back at 192.05p per share for a total cost of £20,953,000. The tender offer and buyback of shares during the year has provided a gross capital uplift of £1.09 million (0.81% of the average daily NAV for the year).
Following Shareholder approval of the amendment to the Company’s investment objective and investment policy, the Board has implemented an enhanced discount control mechanism applying to rolling three-year periods commencing on 1 May 2025. Under this mechanism, Shareholders are offered the opportunity to tender for up to 100% of the Company’s issued share capital at a price reflecting the latest cum-income NAV per ordinary share, less 2% and adjusted for portfolio realisation costs, where the Company’s annualised total NAV return over the three year period does not exceed the annualised benchmark by more than 50 basis points. In addition, the Board retains discretion to implement a tender offer on the same terms where the Company’s cum-income NAV at the end of the three-year period is below £125 million.
These additional protections for shareholders reflects both the Board’s confidence in the new investment approach but also a recognition that success will ultimately be judged by good investment performance, leading to asset growth, increased interest in the Company’s shares and a consistently strong rating leading to share issuance. These remain our key strategic aims.
Board composition
As stated in the 2025 Half Yearly Financial Report, Alice Ryder did not seek re-election at the Company’s Annual General Meeting in April. On behalf of the Board, I would once again like to extend our sincere thanks to Alice for her wise counsel and the significant contribution she made to the Company both as a Director and, more recently, as Chair. Following her retirement, I assumed the role of Chair and Solomon Soquar became the Senior Independent Director.
The Board also advised at the interim stage that an external recruitment firm had been appointed to support the search for an additional Director. I am pleased to report that, following this process, Gaynor Coley joined the Board on 25 June 2025. Gaynor’s extensive experience will both enhance and complement the capabilities of the Board, and she has assumed the role of Chair of the Audit Committee.
I am pleased to report that the Board remains fully compliant with the recommendations of both the Parker Review and the FTSE Women Leaders Review and, as at the date of this report, has achieved a 50:50 gender balance. The Board has also disclosed its ethnic diversity, together with its broader policy on diversity and inclusion, within the Corporate Governance Statement in the Company’s Annual Report for the year ended 31 October 2025.
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting of the Company will be held at the offices of BlackRock at 12 Throgmorton Avenue, London EC2N 2DL on Monday, 23 March 2026 at 12 noon. Details of the business of the meeting are set out in the Notice of Annual General Meeting in the Company’s Annual Report for the year ended 31 October 2025. The Board very much looks forward to meeting shareholders on the day and we hope you will be able to attend.
Outlook
The outlook for the US economy remains broadly positive, supported by moderating inflation, resilient consumer demand and the Federal Reserve’s shift toward a more accommodative policy stance. Although uncertainty surrounding trade measures and regulatory priorities may continue to generate short-term volatility, these factors are not expected to derail the underlying momentum of the US economy, which continues to compare favourably with other major developed markets.
Valuations across several areas of the market remain appealing, particularly among high-quality and attractively valued companies that have lagged the more speculative parts of the market during the recent rally. History suggests that fundamentals tend to reassert themselves over time, creating a potentially supportive environment for investors with a disciplined, long-term approach.
Against this backdrop, the Company’s diversified, systematic investment process aims to balance fundamental, valuation and sentiment insights, enabling it to capture opportunities across different market conditions. The Board believes that this approach positions the Company well to continue providing shareholders with exposure to the breadth and resilience of the US equity market. The Company’s differentiated investment approach, its diversified exposure to US value stocks beyond the US mega cap names, its enhanced income and its systematic investment approach give the Board confidence that there are good reasons to view the future of the Company with confidence. We thank shareholders for their support during the year.
1 Return on net total return index is calculated including the reinvestment of dividends net of withholding taxes.