Financial Overview
Summarized financial information for the year ended June 30, 2026
The University ended fiscal year 2026 with an operating surplus of $100 million on an operating revenue base of $6.7 billion, representing a 1.5% operating margin. Overall net assets grew to $82.3 billion, a 19.8% increase from fiscal year 2025.
Read the full FY26 Financial Overview from the Vice President for Finance and the Treasurer
Operating Revenue
Total operating revenue remained consistent at $6.7 billion. Harvard’s diversified, mission-driven activities rely on three main sources of revenue: education or tuition, sponsored research, and philanthropy, both past and present.
Sources of Operating Revenue for Fiscal 2026
Philanthropy: Endowment income made available for operations and Gifts for current use | 48% |
Education: Degree seeking education and Continuing & executive education | 22% |
Research: Federal and Non-Federal sponsored revenue | 12% |
Other | 17% |
Percentages may not sum due to rounding.
Operating Expenses
Total operating expenses decreased by $152 million or 2% to $6.6 billion.
Harvard’s operating expenses fall into three primary categories: compensation for the faculty, staff, and other people who carry out the University’s work; the classrooms, laboratories, and other spaces in which that work takes place; and the supplies and services used to advance it. Compensation expenses — including salaries, wages, and benefits — accounted for over half of the University’s total operating costs in fiscal year 2026. Salaries and wages decreased by $104 million, or 3.8%, to $2.7 billion, reflecting lower headcount due to an ongoing hiring freeze, strategic workforce actions and a wage freeze for the University’s nonunion employees in fiscal year 2026.
Operating Expenses for Fiscal 2026
People: Salaries and wages, Benefits | 51% |
Space: Space and Occupancy, Depreciation, Interest | 19% |
Other: Services purchased, Supplies & equipment, other | 30% |
Harvard's Endowment
Harvard’s endowment has existed for nearly four centuries and serves as a crucial resource for current and future generations of Harvard students, faculty, and researchers. Comprising approximately 15,000 individual funds, the endowment is designed to support nearly every facet of the University’s mission.
The University’s endowment spending practices balance two goals: the need to provide a stable and sufficient distribution to fund the operating budget, and the obligation both legally and to our donors to maintain the long-term value of the endowment in order to preserve its future purchasing power. This critical source of funding distributed $2.6 billion in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026 – representing 39% of Harvard’s total operating revenue – and is the largest source of revenue supporting the University. In this way, the endowment bridges the gap between revenue from tuition and research grants and the critical costs associated with the University’s teaching and research activities.
While the endowment is a critical source of funding, more than 80% of its market value is legally restricted under the terms of donor agreements and subject to prudent distribution requirements under the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA). These restrictions apply both to purpose, with funds designated for specific programs, departments, or activities, and to time, as many endowment gifts must be held in perpetuity in accordance with donor intent. Less than 20% of the endowment generally offers more flexibility, although it is mostly restricted at a high level such as to a particular school or unit. Less than 5% of the endowment is fully unrestricted to support programs across the University. These less restricted funds are essential for general mission support and to advance transformative, strategic initiatives.