Harvard’s endowment jumps 27% with SpaceX as top holding

Key Points:

• Harvard University's endowment grew by 27.1% in fiscal year 2026, marking its strongest return in five years and surpassing the S&P 500's 22.3% return by 4.8 percentage points, bringing the total endowment to nearly $68 billion.
• The endowment's largest single holding is a $2.2 billion stake in Elon Musk's SpaceX, followed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company at just under $350 million.
• Despite strong investment returns, Harvard faces financial challenges including a 19.5% decline in federally-sponsored research revenue to $509 million and a significant increase in the federal excise tax on net investment income from 1.4% to 8%, potentially costing the university around $300 million annually.
• Harvard's leadership emphasized that the university smooths endowment distributions to maintain stable operating support and remains optimistic about its future despite government-imposed financial pressures.
• President Alan Garber expressed confidence in Harvard's ability to overcome challenges and continue its pursuit of excellence, describing the current period as an exciting time for the institution.