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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
| QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
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| For the quarterly period ended |
| or |
| TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
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| For the transition period from to |
Commission File Number:
iShares® Gold Trust
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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| (State or other jurisdiction of | (I.R.S. Employer |
c/o iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC
,
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
()
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
N/A
(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered |
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| ☒ | Accelerated filer ☐ |
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| Non-accelerated filer ☐ | Smaller reporting company | Emerging growth company |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes No ☒
As of April 30, 2025, the Registrant had Shares outstanding.
PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1. Financial Statements
iShares® Gold Trust
Statements of Assets and Liabilities (Unaudited)
At March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024
| March 31, | December 31, | |||||||
| Assets | ||||||||
| Investment in gold bullion, at fair value(a) | $ | $ | ||||||
| Total Assets | ||||||||
| Liabilities | ||||||||
| Sponsor’s fees payable | ||||||||
| Total Liabilities | ||||||||
| Commitments and contingent liabilities (Note 6) | — | — | ||||||
| Net Assets | $ | $ | ||||||
| Shares issued and outstanding(b) | ||||||||
| Net asset value per Share (Note 2C) | $ | $ | ||||||
| (a) |
Cost of investment in gold bullion: $24,364,279,998 and $21,152,229,978, respectively. |
| (b) |
No par value, unlimited amount authorized. |
See notes to financial statements.
Statements of Operations (Unaudited)
For the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024
| Three Months Ended | ||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Expenses | ||||||||
| Sponsor’s fees | $ | $ | ||||||
| Total expenses | ||||||||
| Net investment loss | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) | ||||||||
| Net realized gain from: | ||||||||
| Gold bullion sold to pay expenses | ||||||||
| Gold bullion distributed for the redemption of Shares | ||||||||
| Net realized gain | ||||||||
| Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation | ||||||||
| Net realized and unrealized gain | ||||||||
| Net increase in net assets resulting from operations | $ | $ | ||||||
| Net increase in net assets per Share(a) | $ | $ | ||||||
| (a) |
Net increase in net assets per Share based on average shares outstanding during the period. |
See notes to financial statements.
Statements of Changes in Net Assets (Unaudited)
For the three months ended March 31, 2025
| Three Months Ended | ||||
| Net Assets at December 31, 2024 | $ | |||
| Operations: | ||||
| Net investment loss | ( | ) | ||
| Net realized gain | ||||
| Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation | ||||
| Net increase in net assets resulting from operations | ||||
| Capital Share Transactions: | ||||
| Contributions for Shares issued | ||||
| Distributions for Shares redeemed | ( | ) | ||
| Net increase in net assets from capital share transactions | ||||
| Increase in net assets | ||||
| Net Assets at March 31, 2025 | $ | |||
| Shares issued and redeemed | ||||
| Shares issued | ||||
| Shares redeemed | ( | ) | ||
| Net increase in Shares issued and outstanding | ||||
See notes to financial statements.
iShares® Gold Trust
Statements of Changes in Net Assets (Unaudited)
For the three months ended March 31, 2024
| Three Months Ended | ||||
| Net Assets at December 31, 2023 | $ | |||
| Operations: | ||||
| Net investment loss | ( | ) | ||
| Net realized gain | ||||
| Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation | ||||
| Net increase in net assets resulting from operations | ||||
| Capital Share Transactions: | ||||
| Contributions for Shares issued | ||||
| Distributions for Shares redeemed | ( | ) | ||
| Net decrease in net assets from capital share transactions | ( | ) | ||
| Increase in net assets | ||||
| Net Assets at March 31, 2024 | $ | |||
| Shares issued and redeemed | ||||
| Shares issued | ||||
| Shares redeemed | ( | ) | ||
| Net decrease in Shares issued and outstanding | ( | ) | ||
See notes to financial statements.
Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited)
For the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024
| Three Months Ended | ||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Cash Flows from Operating Activities | ||||||||
| Proceeds from gold bullion sold to pay expenses | $ | $ | ||||||
| Expenses – Sponsor’s fees paid | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | ||||||||
| Increase (decrease) in cash | ||||||||
| Cash, beginning of period | ||||||||
| Cash, end of period | $ | $ | ||||||
| Reconciliation of Net Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets Resulting from Operations to Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Operating Activities | ||||||||
| Net increase in net assets resulting from operations | $ | $ | ||||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities: | ||||||||
| Proceeds from gold bullion sold to pay expenses | ||||||||
| Net realized (gain) loss | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Change in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||||||
| Sponsor’s fees payable | ||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | $ | $ | ||||||
| Supplemental disclosure of non-cash information: | ||||||||
| Gold bullion contributed for Shares issued | $ | $ | ||||||
| Gold bullion distributed for Shares redeemed | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||
See notes to financial statements.
Total Investments – 100.02%
Less Liabilities – (0.02)%
Net Assets – 100.00%
| December 31, 2024 |
Total Investments – 100.02%
Less Liabilities – (0.02)%
Net Assets – 100.00%
The following tables summarize activity in gold bullion for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024:
Gold bullion contributed
Gold bullion distributed
Gold bullion sold to pay expenses
Net realized gain
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation
Ending balance
Gold bullion contributed
Gold bullion distributed
Gold bullion sold to pay expenses
Net realized gain
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation
Ending balance
Shares in exchange for gold bullion rather than cash. Individual investors cannot purchase or redeem Shares in direct transactions with the Trust. The Trust only transacts with registered broker-dealers that are eligible to settle securities transactions through the book-entry facilities of the Depository Trust Company and that have entered into a contractual arrangement with the Trustee and the Sponsor governing, among other matters, the creation and redemption of Shares (such broker-dealers, the “Authorized Participants”). Holders of Shares of the Trust may redeem their Shares at any time acting through an Authorized Participant and in the prescribed aggregations of Shares; provided, that redemptions of Shares may be suspended during any period while regular trading on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) is suspended or restricted, or in which an emergency exists as a result of which delivery, disposal or evaluation of gold is not reasonably practicable.
The per Share amount of gold exchanged for a purchase or redemption represents the per Share amount of gold held by the Trust, after giving effect to its liabilities.
When gold bullion is exchanged in settlement of a redemption, it is considered a sale of gold bullion for accounting purposes.
Net investment loss(a)
Net realized and unrealized gain(b)
Net increase in net assets from operations
Net asset value per Share, end of period
Total return, at net asset value(c)(d)
Ratio to average net assets:
Net investment loss(e)
Expenses(e)
| (a) | Based on average Shares outstanding during the period. |
| (b) | The amounts reported for a Share outstanding may not accord with the change in aggregate gains and losses on investment for the period due to the timing of Share transactions in relation to the fluctuating fair values of the Trust’s underlying investment. |
| (c) | Based on the change in net asset value of a Share during the period. |
| (d) | Percentage is not annualized. |
| (e) | Percentage is annualized. |
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
This information should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes to financial statements included in Item 1 of Part I of this Form 10‑Q. The discussion and analysis that follows may contain statements that relate to future events or future performance. In some cases, such forward‑looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions. Actual events or results may differ materially. These statements are based upon certain assumptions and analyses made by the Sponsor on the basis of its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Whether or not actual results and developments will conform to the Sponsor’s expectations and predictions, however, is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the special considerations discussed below, general economic, market and business conditions, changes in laws or regulations, including those concerning taxes, made by governmental authorities or regulatory bodies, and other world economic and political developments. Although the Sponsor does not make forward-looking statements unless it believes it has a reasonable basis for doing so, the Sponsor cannot guarantee their accuracy. Except as required by applicable disclosure laws, neither the Trust nor the Sponsor is under a duty to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform such statements to actual results or to a change in the Sponsor’s expectations or predictions.
Introduction
The iShares Gold Trust (the “Trust”) is a grantor trust formed under the laws of the State of New York. The Trust does not have any officers, directors, or employees, and is administered by The Bank of New York Mellon (the “Trustee”) acting as trustee pursuant to the Fifth Amended and Restated Depositary Trust Agreement (the “Trust Agreement”) between the Trustee and iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC, the sponsor of the Trust (the “Sponsor”). The Trust issues units of beneficial interest (“Shares”) representing fractional undivided beneficial interests in its net assets. The assets of the Trust consist primarily of gold bullion held by a custodian as an agent of the Trust responsible only to the Trustee.
The Trust is a passive investment vehicle and seeks to reflect generally the performance of the price of gold. The Trust seeks to reflect such performance before payment of the Trust’s expenses and liabilities. The Trust does not engage in any activities designed to obtain a profit from, or ameliorate losses caused by, changes in the price of gold.
The Trust issues and redeems Shares only in exchange for gold, only in aggregations of 50,000 Shares (a “Basket”) or integral multiples thereof, and only in transactions with registered broker-dealers that have previously entered into an agreement with the Sponsor and the Trustee governing the terms and conditions of such issuance (such broker-dealers, the “Authorized Participants”). A list of the current Authorized Participants is available from the Sponsor or the Trustee.
Shares of the Trust trade on NYSE Arca, Inc. under the ticker symbol IAU.
Valuation of Gold Bullion; Computation of Net Asset Value
On each business day, as soon as practicable after 4:00 p.m. (New York time), the Trustee evaluates the gold held by the Trust and determines the net asset value of the Trust and the net asset value per Share (“NAV”). The Trustee values the gold held by the Trust using the price per fine troy ounce of gold determined in an electronic auction hosted by ICE Benchmark Administration (“IBA”) that begins at 3:00 p.m. (London time) and published shortly thereafter, on the day the valuation takes place (such price, the “LBMA Gold Price PM”). If there is no announced LBMA Gold Price PM on any day, the Trustee is authorized to use the most recently announced price of gold determined in an electronic auction hosted by IBA that begins at 10:30 a.m. (London time) (such price, the “LBMA Gold Price AM”), unless the Trustee, in consultation with the Sponsor, determines that such price is inappropriate as a basis for evaluation. The LBMA Gold Price AM and LBMA Gold Price PM are used by the Trust because they are commonly used by the U.S. gold market as indicators of the value of gold and are permitted to be used under the Trust Agreement. The use of indicators of the value of gold bullion other than the LBMA Gold Price AM and LBMA Gold Price PM could result in materially different fair value pricing of the gold held by the Trust, and as such, could result in different cost or market adjustments or in different redemption value adjustments of the outstanding redeemable capital Shares. Having valued the gold held by the Trust, the Trustee then subtracts all accrued fees, expenses and other liabilities of the Trust from the total value of the gold and other assets held by the Trust. The result is the net asset value of the Trust. The Trustee computes NAV by dividing the net asset value of the Trust by the number of Shares outstanding on the date the computation is made.
Liquidity
The Trust is not aware of any trends, demands, conditions or events that are reasonably likely to result in material changes to its liquidity needs. In exchange for a fee, the Sponsor has agreed to assume most of the expenses incurred by the Trust. As a result, the only ordinary expense of the Trust during the period covered by this report was the Sponsor’s fee. The Trust’s only source of liquidity is its sales of gold.
Critical Accounting Policies
The financial statements and accompanying notes are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America. The preparation of these financial statements relies on estimates and assumptions that impact the Trust’s financial position and results of operations. These estimates and assumptions affect the Trust’s application of accounting policies. A description of the valuation of gold bullion, a critical accounting policy that the Trust believes is important to understanding its results of operations and financial position, is provided in the section entitled “Valuation of Gold Bullion; Computation of Net Asset Value” above. In addition, please refer to Note 2 to the financial statements included in this report for further discussion of the Trust’s accounting policies.
Results of Operations
The Quarter Ended March 31, 2025
The Trust’s net asset value increased from $32,955,472,597 at December 31, 2024 to $42,544,094,836 at March 31, 2025, a 29.10% increase. The increase in the Trust’s net asset value resulted primarily from an increase in the price of gold, which grew 19.31% from $2,610.85 at December 31, 2024 to $3,115.10 at March 31, 2025. The increase in the Trust’s net asset value also benefitted from an increase in the number of outstanding Shares, which rose from 668,650,000 Shares at December 31, 2024 to 723,900,000 Shares at March 31, 2025, a consequence of 64,050,000 Shares (1,281 Baskets) being created and 8,800,000 Shares (176 Baskets) being redeemed during the quarter.
The 19.23% increase in the NAV from $49.29 at December 31, 2024 to $58.77 at March 31, 2025 is directly related to the 19.31% increase in the price of gold.
The NAV increased slightly less than the price of gold on a percentage basis due to the Sponsor’s fees, which were $22,812,750 for the quarter, or 0.06% of the Trust’s average weighted assets of $37,008,200,390 during the quarter. The NAV of $58.77 on March 31, 2025 was the highest during the quarter, compared with a low during the quarter of $49.71 on January 6, 2025.
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2025 was $6,550,636,621, resulting from an unrealized gain on investment in gold bullion of $6,378,044,471, a net realized gain of $187,118,431 on gold bullion distributed for the redemption of Shares, a net realized gain of $8,286,469 from gold bullion sold to pay expenses during the quarter, partially offset by a net investment loss of $22,812,750. Other than the Sponsor’s fees of $22,812,750, the Trust had no expenses during the quarter.
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.
Not applicable.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures.
The duly authorized officers of the Sponsor performing functions equivalent to those a principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the Trust would perform if the Trust had any officers, with the participation of the Trustee, have evaluated the effectiveness of the Trust’s disclosure controls and procedures, and have concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures of the Trust were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in the reports that the Trust files or submits under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the applicable rules and forms, and that it is accumulated and communicated to the duly authorized officers of the Sponsor performing functions equivalent to those a principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the Trust would perform if the Trust had any officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
There are inherent limitations to the effectiveness of any system of disclosure controls and procedures, including the possibility of human error and the circumvention or overriding of the controls and procedures.
There were no changes in the Trust’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Trust’s internal control over financial reporting.
None.
There have been no material changes to the Risk Factors last reported under Part I, Item 1A of the registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 19, 2025.
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
a) None.
b) Not applicable.
c) 8,800,000 Shares (176 Baskets) were redeemed during the quarter ended March 31, 2025.
| Period |
Total Number of Shares |
Average Ounces of |
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| 01/01/25 to 01/31/25 |
4,000,000 | $ | 0.0189 | |||||
| 02/01/25 to 02/28/25 |
— | — | ||||||
| 03/01/25 to 03/31/25 |
4,800,000 | 0.0189 | ||||||
| Total |
8,800,000 | $ | 0.0189 | |||||
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities
None.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
| Exhibit No. |
Description |
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| 4.1 |
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| 4.2 |
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| 10.1 |
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| 10.2 |
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| 10.3 |
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| 31.1* |
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| 31.2* |
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| 32.1* |
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| 32.2* |
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| 101.INS* |
Inline XBRL Instance Document - the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document. |
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| 101.SCH* |
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document |
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| 101.CAL* |
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document |
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| 101.DEF* |
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document |
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| 101.LAB* |
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document |
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| 101.PRE* |
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document |
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| 104 |
Cover Page Interactive Data File included as Exhibit 101 (embedded within the Inline XBRL document) |
| * |
Filed herewith |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned in the capacities* indicated thereunto duly authorized.
iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC,
Sponsor of iShares Gold Trust (registrant)
| /s/ Shannon Ghia |
Shannon Ghia
Director, President and Chief Executive Officer
(Principal executive officer)
| Date: | May 7, 2025 |
| /s/ Bryan Bowers |
Bryan Bowers
Director and Chief Financial Officer
(Principal financial and accounting officer)
| Date: | May 7, 2025 |
| * |
The registrant is a trust and the persons are signing in their respective capacities as officers of iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC, the Sponsor of the registrant. |